The Path to Peace
by bucketbot
Summary: When the Kyuubi is set loose on Konoha the only option is to seal it within Naruto's sister. This act changes Naruto's life forever, giving him a goal that he will do his best to see through to the end. Faced with uncertainty and doubt can he bring about peace?
1. Prologue

**Welcome to my first actual story. Be forewarned that I will be ignoring some of the recent revelations within the Naruto manga and some of the older ones too. Basically everything after the Pein invasion is subject to change as I feel a lot of it is the usual manga bullcrap of pulling out random powers and retarded plot twists. ****I might also play around with the timeline, ages, and power levels of certain people.**

**I do not own Naruto. This applies to all future chapters as well.**

* * *

A six year old child cowered in fear as his beloved village was torn apart by a force of nature known as the Kyuubi. Even from his supposedly safe vantage point he could feel the horrifying power it exuded. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. Today was supposed to be peaceful just like every other day. Why was this happening?

Before the boy could contemplate anything further the beast swung one of its massive tails. One of the ninja fighting it was unfortunate enough to be caught head on by the tail.

As the boy continued to watch he noticed something flying towards him. Before he had time to realize it was a person they had hit the ground and showered the boy in blood. His blond hair became crimson and his blue eyes glazed over as he tried to deny what had just happened. Bathed in blood and traumatized by what he had just seen the boy lost consciousness with his last thoughts being full of blood.

* * *

"He was found shivering, covered in blood. It was apparently a gruesome scene and no child should have ever had to see it let alone be a part of it."

"My poor child. Do you think he will wake up soon?" Naruto could hear voices as he strove to wake up.

"I'm sorry Kushina-chan but that's up to him. He's currently trying to repress the memories of what happened but due to his lineage he might wake up before that happens. Be warned though, even if he does there will still be a noticeable change in attitude. You should- Wait, he's waking up!"

Naruto began to slowly open his eyes as he tried to remember what happened. The sight that greeted him was the concerned faces of his mother and a blonde woman he didn't know. Looking around he realized he was in the hospital.

"Kaa-san, what happened?" Both women seemed to relax at his inability to remember. "The last thing I remember is the Kyuubi attacking and then-"

He froze as memories of red flashed before his mind. "S-s-so much! S-so much b-blood!" He curled in on himself and began to cry. Kushina immediately gathered him into her arms and tried to soothe him. Laying in his mother's arms he began to calm down before eventually falling into a much needed sleep.

"You may take him home now if you wish Kushina-chan. Be sure to have both yourself and Minato-kun watch out for him. As you should be used to dealing with trauma victims and, considering you're his parents, you two will be able to get your son through this better than any psychiatrist we have left. We lost many good shinobi and we simply can't spare anyone." It was a sad truth but a single traumistized child, no matter who that child was, simply didn't register compared to everything else.

"Don't worry I'll be sure to take special care of him." Kushina held her precious child and couldn't help the tear that trailed down her face.

* * *

"Naruto-kun should have never had to see something like that at his age." A distraught Kushina was worriedly pacing. A man that looked like an older version of Naruto stepped towards her and held her.

"Don't worry Kushina-chan, he's our son so he'll be able to get through it. And we'll be there to make sure he never falls. Everything is going to be ok. After all, our beautiful new daughter has entered our lives and she'll certainly brighten his day." The thought of their new daughter certainly aided the two distressed parents in dealing with the terrible situation they had been placed in.

"I must admit Minato-kun that your optimism is comforting but I'm still worried about him." She began to nervously play with her crimson waist-length hair. Too much had happened recently and it was stressing her out. Both her children had had something happen to them that she never wished to occur. Her first-born had seen something no child his age ever needed to witness. Her new-born had the Kyuubi, the most powerful bijuu, sealed within her mere moments after her birth.

"I know and that's your job as his mother, but believe me when I say we'll make sure he's fine. Besides, I have the feeling that Masuyo is the child of prophecy that Jiraiya spoke of. With our help she'll lead our land to peace and her and Naruto will live out the rest of their lives in it."

"I'm not sure how I feel about forcing our daughter to face that masked bastard. She's going to have enough trouble as it is being a jinchūriki. I wanted her to live a normal life."

"Me, you, and Naruto-kun are going to be there to support her no matter what. She'll never feel lonely, we'll make sure of it. She'll be seen as a hero by the people of our village, not a monster. You shouldn't be so negative." Minato was rather worried about his wife. He knew exactly what she was going through, having what was supposed to have been a wonderful day turn out so horribly wrong.

"Minato-kun, we almost died! If it wasn't for Tsunade-chan healing me and Sarutobi-sama taking your place as the sacrifice for the sealing our children would be orphans!"

"Please don't remind me, I feel guilty enough as it is. I know how you feel but we both need to move on for the sake of our children. We have to be strong for them. We need to let go of our negative emotions and be filled with the love for our children. They are our future and we need to do everything we can to ensure it's a bright one."

Kushina stopped her pacing and gained a fierce look of determination on her face. Her husband was right, her children needed her and she wasn't going to be of use if she worried about what ifs.

"You're right; I'm not going to let our children down. Come on, let's go see Naruto-kun before he wakes up, and bring Masuyo with you."

* * *

When Naruto next woke up he was laying on his mother's lap while she stroked his spikey hair. The images of what had happened were still vivid, but her felt so much safer now.

"Minato-kun, he's awake."

Minato stepped towards the pair with a bundle in his arms.

"Hey there champ, I have someone for you to meet. It's your new sister Masuyo." Naruto stared in awe at the little form that was his sister.

"This is my imouto?" At his parents' affirmation he leaned in close. "Don't worry imouto-chan, your ani will become a super strong ninja so you don't ever have to see bad things. I'll make the world a better place for you."

* * *

******That's it for the prologue. I know it's rather short but that's only because it's the prologue. Future chapters will be longer.**

**kaa-san is mother**

**imouto is younger sister**

**ani is older brother**

**Masuyo means 'benefit the world'**


	2. The First Steps

**The First Steps**

* * *

"Minato-kun, are you sure we made the right decision in sending Naruto-kun to the academy? I mean we could have enrolled him a little later instead and train him to make up for it." No matter what, Kushina would always dote on her children. Even if it wasn't the best option, she was afraid for them.

"Kushina-chan we can't be there for him all the time. I have my duties as hokage and you have to take care of Masuyo-chan. Besides, being around children his age should be good for him."

* * *

Naruto stared around the academy in awe. This was the place he could become a super strong ninja at. He couldn't wait to begin his training here and learn a bunch of cool jutsu. Both of his parents had gone here. This was the place they had taken their first steps towards being so strong at. He was going to be exactly like them.

His mother had dropped him off early so he could explore and perhaps meet some new people. Considering the fact that almost no one was around he decided to explore first. The academy was quite large but its training areas were massive! What was even more amazing was that this building, along with many others, was untouched by the Kyuubi's rampage.

The terrifying beast hadn't been able to get so far into Konoha during it's attack. Every part of the city showed signs of it's invasion, but it hadn't been able to destroy them. The Kyuubi was supposed to be the strongest of all the tailed beasts. If it was for ninjas to halt the advance of such a beast and even beat it in the end, then it must surely be possible for ninjas to protect their loved ones from everything that would try to hurt them.

"Naruto-kun!" Naruto turned to see a fair-skinned woman with long, black, hair followed by a dark haired child with the same coal eyes as his mother.

"Mikoto-sama, Itachi-san, it's nice to see you." Naruto had met his mother's friend Mikoto a few times. He had also met her son Itachi once or twice but the war was more important than organizing play dates so he never got to know Itachi.

"Yes it is, I haven't seen you in a while. Is your okaa-san around? I want to talk to her."

"Uh no, she left after dropping me off." Naruto was still a little bit nervous about talking to someone that wasn't family. He supposed he'd have to get used to it soon though.

"Alright, I guess I'm going to go then. I hope you two have a good first day."

Both boys gave their farewells before turning to each other. If there was anyone Naruto was glad to be left with it was Itachi. He had met Itachi a few times before and Naruto noticed that he was very subdued.

Not that he himself was much different now. He had heard Itachi stumbled onto a battle site and that he had changed because of it. Perhaps now that they shared a similar experience they would also share similar ideas.

"Naruto-san, I overheard our okaa-sans discussing what happened to you. What did you take away from it?" Naruto never dreamed that Itachi would be the one to start a conversation.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean." Itachi frowned slightly in irritation but decided to repeat himself as he wanted an answer.

"Did you learn something or gain a goal because of it?"

"Oh yeah, I've decided to make sure no one has to see that kind of stuff again ever again, especially my sister."

'He's absolutely serious about this goal, interesting.' Itachi analyzed him before finally answering. "I think you are chasing an impossible goal. There will always be fighting and the most you can do is try to maintain peace the people of Konoha have."

"I don't care what you say, I will succeed!" Naruto was done with the conversation and stomped away without saying goodbye.

'I do hope you're right Naruto-san.' Itachi let out a small smile before following Naruto towards the academy entrance.

* * *

Naruto entered the academy and quickly found the class meant for the new arrivals. He chose a seat in the back corner as he preferred being able to see everyone. He noticed Itachi entering and made sure to glare at him but was ignored. Grumbling to himself, Naruto decided not to let Itachi ruin his good mood.

He was excited about his first day at the academy, although he had a feeling they wouldn't be doing any sort of training today. He just hoped that he wasn't bored to death.

As he looked about the class he noticed it was rather small, most likely some kids simply didn't want to become ninja as they were too busy mourning their parents. This just furthered Naruto's belief that his goal of world peace was a good one.

He didn't want his sister growing up in a world where children became orphans because someone decided to be a killer.

He was broken from his thoughts when a female Uchiha he guessed was his instructor stepped in. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or worried about his new instructor. The Uchiha clan were full of talented ninjas so she might be good, on the other hand she might be a disgrace considering she was an instructor instead of part of the police force.

He couldn't allow his training to be handled by someone who wasn't strong. If it wouldn't be incredibly rude he would question his father about her he would. He decided to reserve judgement until he had seen how good she was.

She seemed to be quiet person as she asked the class to calm down. Unfortunately the class ignored her as she didn't see command any attention with her personality.

"I thought I said shut up. Unless of course you all wish to find out the difference between a chunin and an academy student." Silence permeated the room at the unexpected threat. "Much better." She finished with a smile.

'What was that? Was she pretending to be mean or is she pretending to be kind?' Naruto didn't understand the sudden change in personality his instructor had gone through. 'I'm not sure which one it is, but what I do know is that she acts a certain way to get the reaction she wants.'

"Good morning class, I am your new instructor. You may refer to me as Chie-sensei and nothing else. Today is the first day of your training to become a ninja. I expect all of you to take this extremely seriously. As you are all aware Konoha has lost many shinobi and you are the ones to replace them. It is for that reason that I am going to push you all to achieve your full potential. Am I understood?"

A chorus of agreements rang out through the class as they didn't want to anger their instructor again.

"It is also for that very reason that none of you will be receiving any special treatment whatsoever. I don't care who your parents are, in this classroom my word is law." Her eyes lingered particularly over Naruto and Itachi.

"Now that that's cleared up, I'm going to teach you a small bit of our great nation's history before lunch. I'm sure all of you know about the war that recently ended. Many of your parents likely fought and perhaps even died in it."

Naruto noted that some of the students seemed to fall into sadness.

"There was a particular battle during this war I wish to teach you about. There was a group of Konoha shinobi who were outnumbered and soon to be defeated. They had lost all hope until our hokage, then a jounin, stepped onto the battlefield to aid them. Utilizing his famed Hiraishin no jutsu he defeated every single Iwa ninja on the field and saved the day. In fact his overwhelming victory is one of the main reasons Iwa later surrendered. Our hokage holds the will of fire and helped bring our nations to peace."

Naruto couldn't help but feel proud of his tou-san. He had managed to save his fellow shinobi and had helped to end a war. If Naruto could become stronger than his father he would certainly be able to stop all fighting.

"All right, that's enough for now; you may all go off and eat lunch. However, be prepared as after we are going to begin physical testing to find out how fit each of you are."

* * *

When Naruto finally got home he couldn't help but feel proud. He was one of the best during the tests, although Itachi eclipsed everyone. It was obvious Itachi was better than him so Naruto resolved to watch and learn from him.

"Welcome home Naruto-kun. Hurry up and get ready for supper and then you can tell us all about your day."

"Alright Kaa-san." Naruto quickly went about getting cleaned up before entering the dining room. He father was already there, as if he was really needed he could simply flash to his office.

Looking at the table he couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. It was ramen, again. His mother certainly made very good ramen but Naruto just didn't share her addiction to the food.

"So Naruto-kun, why don't you tell me and your tou-san about your first day?"

"It was good." Naruto noticed the frowns on his parents' faces and the quick look they shared.

'I'm making tou-san and kaa-san sad. I don't want them to be worried about me. Maybe if I act like Chie-sensei did then they won't be so sad.'

"Actually, we were told a story about tou-san. Chie-sensei told us how you managed to save a bunch of Konoha shinobi with you super powerful jutsu! You're a hero tou-san!" It seemed to work as both his parents brightened, although his father seemed a bit embarrassed.

"Hehe, well I'm glad you think I'm a hero Naruto-kun. Maybe I can be your role model?" His father seemed hopeful so Naruto made sure to smile and nod fervently. His father seemed rather happy while his mother was laughing.

'This acting stuff really works.'

"What did you think about your instructor Naruto-kun?" Naruto turned back to his mother to answer.

"Uh, I thought she was great."

"Naruto-kun why are you lying?" She knew he was lying? How?

'I guess some emotions are easier to fake than others. I'm gonna need to practice acting so I can fool anybody.' Naruto vowed to learn how to act better by observing people to see how they reacted.

"Well I'm kinda worried because she's an Uchiha." His parents both shared a look that Naruto didn't notice as he was too busy talking. "Maybe she isn't that good because most Uchiha are in the police force." He was confused by the looks of relief on his parents' faces.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun. I've personally made sure that every instructor is good enough to be one. She'll be able to teach you a lot about being a ninja." Naruto nodded happily at that.

If someone as great as his tou-san thought she would be able to teach him a lot then she must be able to. Naruto would make sure to watch her and learn from how she behaved.

* * *

Before going to bed Naruto made sure to visit his sleeping imouto. He couldn't help but be filled with love when he looked upon her sleeping in her crib. Every time he looked at her his resolve was strengthened.

He didn't want anything bad to ever happen to her. Already he was getting anxious for the time when they would be older and she'd come to him to ask for lessons on being a shinobi.

Leaning in to place a kiss on her forehead he whispered to her. "I've finished my first day at the academy imouto-chan. Tou-san said my instructor is good so it's only a matter of time before I can uphold my promise to you. I'm going to try my hardest to learn all that I can so I can make your world better."

* * *

"Today we are going to start with some shuriken training. I have set up some dummies with targets on them at different areas. I want you all to start practicing throwing shuriken at your dummy. These shuriken are also mildly dulled so you won't cut yourself on them unless you aren't paying attention."

Everyone was soon trying to hit their dummy. After his fifth complete miss Naruto was getting angry. Looking around he noticed the teacher going to each student to help them in their throws. He also noticed that Itachi was hitting his target with great accuracy. He even hit the bullseyes!

Naruto continued to watch Itachi throw and tried to mimic his stance and motions. His began to get noticeably better but he continued to glance over at Itachi and make minute adjustments to his stance. He didn't even notice that the instructor was standing beside him and watching.

"Very good Naruto-san. Instead of waiting around for me you took it upon yourself to improve by watching someone better than yourself. However you aren't quite moving your wrist correctly. Watch me and pay attention to how I flick my wrist."

Naruto was startled when she broke his concentration but he made sure to pay attention. When she threw her shuriken he noticed the difference between their techniques. He quickly settled back into his near trance-like state. Every throw he payed special attention to the movement of his wrist and tried to drill the proper movement into memory. He didn't care if he had to continue throwing for days, he would become better.

When he finally hit a bullseye he smirked. This was his first step towards becoming a super strong ninja!

* * *

**I know some people dislike academy days in fics but I want to show the influences on Naruto when he's younger. I'm not going to write a prologue then simply do a ten year or whatever time skip. I want to build Naruto's character as best I can and show how he changes instead of just skipping and having him already changed.**

**Chie means 'wisdom'**

**tou-san is father**


	3. Learning

**Learning**

* * *

"Now I've talked a lot about our courageous Yondaime, but I still haven't talked too much about our other hokages. For now I'm simply going to touch upon their legacies, but I expect you all to delve more thoroughly into their lives on your own time. We will discuss them at greater length as we move through the course."

Over half a year in the academy and Naruto still enjoyed the lectures he received from his teacher. He knew others would rather be training but he liked watching his teacher. She was already a shinobi so how better to learn to act like one than to follow the examples set by one?

Not only that, she was far smarter than they were. He was learning not only the history of his great village but he was also learning new words. The more words he knew the better he would be able to act. He learned that what he was doing while he was acting was manipulating people, or tricking them to get something he desired.

"The Sandaime, Sarutobi Hiruzen, fought in many wars and protected our village at the cost of his life in the recent Kyuubi attack. He was a master of every aspect of the shinobi life and was known as both the Professor and the God of Shinobi. He was a firm believer and supporter of the Will of Fire."

Naruto had met the Sandaime a few times before and had greatly enjoyed the man's company. He never did seem like a ninja though, more like a very nice old man. Apparently even hokages liked to put on acts to deceive people.

"The Nidaime, Senju Tobirama, along with his brother, taught the Sandaime. He was well known for his prodigious skill in water manipulation, being able to pull water for his techniques out of thin air. He sacrificed himself during the First Shinobi World War. The Shodaime, Senju Hashirama was a wielder of the mokuton bloodline and used his powers to create the forests of Konoha. He negotiated peace with the Uchiha clan and founded our great village. It is his ideals that created the Will of Fire."

'Peace, it's a goal that every hokage lives for. They are the face of Konoha and represent its deepest wishes. I just don't understand why other villages can't be like our own. Why are we the ones striving for peace?' The other villages were the things standing in the way of peace it seemed. Naruto knew that he had to somehow create peace by convincing them to stop the violence.

"Remember the Will of Fire. It is what drives the shinobi of Konoha forward and allows them to persevere. Don't forget, shinobi are the servants of our village. There are those who would attack us and try to disrupt our peace. It is will be your job as shinobi to defeat these evil people. Remember when you're training that you're doing so to become stronger than these evil people who would see our way of life destroyed. You are carrying on the Will of Fire passed down by every hokage and shinobi before you. Now, that's it for today, but could Itachi please stay after class."

Naruto glanced at his teacher in confusion. Surely Itachi hadn't done anything wrong, if anything Itachi was the wonder child of the entire academy. Everything from his attitude to his ninja skills were above anything expected from an academy student, let alone a first year. From what he had seen, Itachi was basically incapable of failing.

Unfortunately it was none of his business so he continued on, although not before throwing one last curious glance at the two.

* * *

'That loser and his perfectness! I can't believe he was able to graduate so early. He's only seven; that's gotta be the youngest outside of war ever!'

Naruto had learned the next day exactly what their sensei had wanted with Itachi. Apparently he was so amazing as a ninja that he was becoming a genin already. They hadn't even completed a full year yet.

'How can the gap between first place and second place be so large? I thought I was close to him but this just shows I'm not. I'll have to try even harder and maybe I'll graduate earlier as well.'

Despite fully understanding why Itachi had been given an early graduation over him, Naruto couldn't help but feel angry about it. Not only was Itachi a genius among geniuses but he was also an incredibly hard worker, a combination that was almost impossible for Naruto to match.

Naruto was marching along in such a huff that he almost ran into a fellow academy student. She, like him, seemed rather distressed and he found himself curious. He recognized her as a girl that had a crush on Itachi.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going and I almost hit you because of it. It's just that… hey, are you ok?" Perhaps getting her to talk about what was bothering her would help distract him.

"I'm sad because Itachi-kun graduated and I can't follow him." So much for it being a distraction. "He's so cute and cool but the only near him is you, so if you haven't graduated yet then I certainly won't anytime soon." Talking to her was only annoying him more.

"Don't worry, I'm sure if you try harder you'll be able to be with Itachi again, but this time as a ninja." She wrapped her arms around Naruto giving him a hug. "Thanks."

"Uh, y-yeah you're welcome." The girl hugged him even tighter at his words. Naruto had been worried she'd notice his hesitance but she was too happy to do so.

'Hmmm, so one the best ways to trick someone is to find out what they want and give it to them.' Despite the neat trick he had just learned, his patience was still wearing thin and he wasn't sure he could keep pretending to be nice.

"Well I think we should head back in to class, we can't be late if we want to be ninjas." He gave her a smile which she returned, before allowing her to rush ahead of him.

Her affection had been unexpected and unwelcome. Naruto wasn't used to dealing with physical contact with those outside his family and it still left him feeling ill at ease. That night still followed him and haunted his dreams. It wasn't at all uncommon for him to wake up in the middle of the night from a bloody nightmare. Shaking his head to rid himself of his morbid thoughts, he set out for the academy, determined to be the next graduate.

* * *

Naruto was laying in his family's private training grounds. He barely had the energy to lift his arms let alone continue any form of training. He held no illusions as to the amount of work he'd had to do to reach Itachi's level.

He barely been training for more than an hour and yet he was already tired. Sure, he was just a kid and couldn't be expected to pull of 8 hours of intense training or anything like that, but he had at least hoped he could reach two hours. He had apparently been complacent at the academy, believing that the training he received there was enough.

'Itachi has obviously been training at his house this entire time. That would mean he can train for a lot longer than I can. I need something to help me catch up to him, perhaps that bunshin technique I heard dad mention would help. Gotta remember to look out for a scroll on that in our library.' Naruto would work until he bled and he would surpass Itachi. In doing so he would be one step closer to completing his goal.

* * *

A few months of training and learning more about Konoha's illustrious history and Naruto was quite satisfied with his progress. Now that Itachi was gone from the class, Naruto was clearly the best student of his year.

Naruto had just finished packing his things away to leave for home when he heard his teacher calling for him.

"Naruto-san I would like you to stay behind, there are some people who wish to meet you." That was odd, it's not like he's particularly famous. Sure he was the Hokage's son, but most ninja wouldn't go out of their way simply to meet someone's son, even if that someone was the Hokage.

"Naruto-san, meet your new teammates, Yamada Tarō and Yamada Hanako." He turned to see two brown-haired twins that appeared to be a few years older than him. They were both incredibly similar and the only way to tell them apart was the fact that Hanako had shoulder length hair while Tarō kept his very short. Hanako looked like a boy actually, as she was still too young to be developing female attributes. Overall they were rather forgettable, which Naruto supposed was better than standing out with blonde hair like his own.

"You mean I'm graduating early?"

"Of course Naruto-kun, you are more than ready to begin your ninja career. The only reason you didn't graduate earlier is because we simply didn't have a spot for you. It has been an honour to teach you and I expect to see you doing great things." Naruto couldn't help but blush in embarrassment at the praise his teacher was giving him.

"Don't worry Chie-sensei, I won't let you down. I'll become a great ninja and you can count on me doing great things."

He was finally a shinobi. His parents would already know, but he couldn't wait to run home and tell his sister. He couldn't help but feel that his goal was almost within his reach.

* * *

**In the early years I'm mostly just showing bits and pieces of the things he would encounter every day to show why he thinks in a certain way and why he is motivated to do exactly what it is he's doing. I may have neglected his family in this chapter but that's mostly because nothing special is really happening at home. He lives a regular life with loving parents and his precious sister.**

**My graduation methods might be a bit unorthodox but I would assume it would be in the interest of the village to graduate someone who's ready as quickly as possible instead of waiting months for some ceremony. They are still in need of competent ninja after the Kyuubi's attack.**

**I know this is short but I wanted to at least get something out. The next chapter is actually half way done, I just split them up to get something out. ****I'm sorry about the long wait for an update but my job and real life just seem to conspire against me.** I'll try to be faster with updates from now on.


	4. New Team

**New Team**

* * *

Naruto found himself standing alone with his two brand new teammates. He was feeling a little self-conscious being the odd one out but he managed a greeting nonetheless.

"Um hey, I guess Chie-sensei didn't really introduce me. I'm Namikaze Naruto."

"Nice to meet you, I guess you already know who we are. I am Tarō and this is my sister Hanako. We're just the kids of an average shinobi family, so it's a real honour meeting the Hokage's son, let alone being on his team." Naruto didn't quite like the looks of admiration that had come across his teammates' faces but he did his best to ignore them for now.

"Uh, don't worry; it's not that big of a deal. Besides, it was my dad that did all the cool stuff you read about, not me."

Hanako gave him a small smile. "Don't worry; we're just still excited about finally graduating from the academy. It's hard not to be when we are finally going to get to go out on missions."

"I wonder who our new sensei is going to be. Does either of you two know?" When the twins shook their heads Naruto felt a bit disappointed. "I'm certainly going to miss Chie-sensei though, she was a really good teacher."

* * *

"I consented to his graduation upon your word, but do you truly believe my son to be ready for this?" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Uchiha Chie's face as she stood at attention in front of her leader. The sharp, calculating stare the Hokage was giving her did little to put her at ease.

"Namikaze Naruto has consistently scored far above average in every test and shows an unwavering love of his village. Above all he shows a level of maturity and focus not often seen in one so young. The constraints that an academy based education inherently has would be counterproductive to his growth as a shinobi. His only fault would be his mildly unrealistic view of our way of life, something that is incredibly common for those in the academy. I feel he would be better acclimated to our way of life through the more personal teachings a jounin-sensei would bring. It is for these reasons that I feel Namikaze Naruto is more than ready to graduate, Hokage-sama." She could only hope her reasons were enough.

The silence between the two stretched out for over a minute before the Hokage grinned and nodded. "It seems as if you have put good thought into this and so I will trust your judgement. It's comforting to know that I have someone as intelligent as you looking after our village's future. You are dismissed."

Chie bowed, thankful she wasn't in trouble. "Thank you very much Hokage-sama."

* * *

After meeting with his teammates and chatting, Naruto rushed home as quickly as possible. He was excited and simply couldn't contain himself. Rushing through the front door, Naruto was confronted with the smiling face of his mother.

"What has you so excited Naruto-kun?" Asked his mother, feigning ignorance.

"Come on Kaa-san, don't pretend you don't know already; I graduated! I'm so excited, I got to meet my teammates already and they were great! Tomorrow we're meeting our leader and starting training! I can't wait to start doing missions and protecting everyone in the village! Maybe I'll even get to rescue a princess!" At the end of his rapid-fire explanation Naruto was left breathless. As he prepared to continue about how excited he was his mother interrupted him.

"I know that you're excited, but isn't there someone else you want to tell about your achievement?"

Naruto's eyes widened before he nodded and rushed off to the living room to see his sister. He found her playing with some toys on the floor. As he approached his sister noticed him and began to reach for him. Naruto picked her up and began to cradle her in his arms.

"Hey, guess what imouto-chan? Your big brother has finally become a real ninja. I'm gonna meet up with my sensei tomorrow and begin my real training. You just wait; I'll be so awesome that when you enter the academy you'll learn about me!"

His sister simply looked at him and giggled, not understanding what he was saying. Naruto's heart warmed at the sound, it reminded him what he was training so hard for.

* * *

Unfortunately, just as Chie had to explain herself to a worried parent, so too did Minato. Arriving home not too long after his son did, he was cowering under his wife's glare. He had hoped his son would be excited enough to wear out his mother but he had decided to sleep a little earlier than usual for the coming day. At least he had become the hokage before dying.

"Would you mind explaining to me exactly why our son has already become a shinobi? And why was I informed by messenger hawk instead of you personally? It's almost as if you weren't thinking." As scary as his wife was he couldn't help but defend his decision.

"Now I know you're angry Kushina-chan, but please don't think so low of me. The only reason I didn't come see you was the two kids Naruto-kun is with were just put forward for graduation today, so I turned them into a team. As for Naruto-kun himself, both I and his academy sensei put a lot of thought into this and decided it was in his best interest to graduate. This wasn't a decision that I made lightly. "

Her glare softened but Kushina was unwilling to relent. "I know, but he's our child Minato-kun. This world is full of dangers, more so because we are his parents. I just want to protect our son."

"I understand, I want to protect him as well, but how can I sleep at night knowing I was sending off other children to fight while I held my much more capable one back? He's ready for this and we shouldn't hold him back."

Kushina let out a soft sigh before nodding. "I know, but with that masked bastard's attack on Konoha I can't help but feel as if things are going to get a lot worse from here on out."

Minato went to his wife and drew her into his arms. "When that day comes we will all be ready. Me, you, Naruto-kun, and Masuyo-chan. We'll stand together as a family."

* * *

"Alright team, today's our first day together and I'm looking forward to getting to know each of you. While some might have you introduce yourself along with hobbies and the like, I find it better to allow understanding of others to form through time spent together instead of forcing it. That being said, it's time I introduced myself. I am Wakahisa Tsuneo, your new sensei." A brown-haired jounin dressed in the standard uniform of Konoha's shinobi stood before his new students.

All three newly minted genin bowed to him. "We are honoured that you are teaching us Tsuneo-sensei."

"You're all pretty polite for new genins, usually we get upstarts who think they're the only people to have ever graduated. Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, this village was attacked not long ago by the Kyuubi. We lost many ninja during the fighting and it is for this reason that you are automatically made genin. Usually we do an extra test that the jounin sensei decides on but we simply lack the man power to have such a luxury. From today onwards I've been tasked to train you all intensively during the down time we have between missions. I expect you to be prepared ahead of time for whenever we have to leave the village."

"Sensei, what do you mean getting out of the village? Don't genin teams usually get easy missions inside of Konoha to start?" Naruto's parents had taught him some of the basics of life as a genin and the horrors of what they called D-rank missions had been.

"You graduated early so you wouldn't know. Because of the attack D-rank missions are done by older academy students so that our real shinobi might spend focus their efforts on more pressing concerns. In fact, we're going to go on a short reconnaissance mission to start. As a test of your skills and to see if you're worthy of being genin, we will be scouting the position of some bandits. I want you all to pack some basic supplies, like you learned in class; about two days' worth. I will meet you at the front gates in five hours' time. Dismissed."

Naruto, brimming with excitement, departed from his team. This was his first real mission, albeit a very simplistic one. Once it was over he'd begin to truly learn the shinobi way. All he had to do was complete this one mission.

* * *

**This was meant to be a part of the last chapter but I was taking my sweet time. Hell, took my sweet time finishing this as well. Sorry bout that but the holidays started before I finished. Also a rather distressing personal problem came up that has since been positively resolved. It took a while to get back the motivation to really write back but it's all good now.**

**To make up for it I've already written a significant portion of the next chapter which I shall finish and post sometime tomorrow. It will be also be lot bigger as this was a fragment of a chapter.**

**Anyways, I'm rather surprised at the number of people who have liked/followed this story. Seems far more popular than its poor writing would suggest it should be.**

**Hope everyone else had/has as good a Valentine's Day as I.**


	5. Ruination

**Ruination**

* * *

_'Why?' Naruto couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. He was too scared of what he'd find should he open them._

* * *

When Naruto arrived at his house to gather the supplies he was met with his father and mother. They both knew why he was so excited and greeted him with smiles. His father approached him while his mother hung back, seemingly nervous, although that flew over his head.

"Hey kiddo, you seem excited for your first mission."

"Of course I am, it's my first real mission. I mean, I know it's not very important or hard but still it's cool to be going on one." Minato smiled proudly as he patted his son on the head.

"I know it is and I'm very proud that you've managed to graduate so early. I've got a feeling that you'll quickly surpass me as a ninja." Naruto couldn't help but beam in happiness at the praise. At this point Kushina stepped forward.

"I'm very proud as well and I'm sure you'll complete this mission easily and be back for more. Although I can't help but wish you'd still be an academy student for your own safety, I know you're destined to do great things and holding you back would only hurt you." Both father and son were surprised that Kushina was so willing to let go of one of her babies.

"Thanks mom, thanks dad. It's nice to know that you believe in me. Me and my team will be back before you know it. I gotta hurry though, our sensei might have given us a lot of time but I want to make sure everything is perfect."

Minato took over the conversation once more. "Just so you know, when you pass your mother and I wish to have a talk with you. It's something that you deserve to know for becoming a full-fledged shinobi."

Naruto was curious about the sudden seriousness of his two parents. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly they wished to tell him that was so important. It was probably an awesome coming of age shinobi secret. With that thought in mind he bid his parents farewell before running off to pack

As Naruto rushed off to his room both parents looked upon him fondly. As Naruto gathered what he would need for the mission he couldn't help but begin to think of his future. Once this mission was over his Tsuneo-sensei would train him and his teammates. While Chie-sensei was a good teacher, she wasn't a jounin.

He'd learn so much more than he ever did during the academy. His education thus far had been focused on the basics but his new sensei would be teaching him the advanced stuff like powerful jutsus. That and he had two teammates to help him grow made him excited for his future.

Once Naruto had finished packing everything he went to where he would spend the rest of the time waiting, his sister's room. Every time he visited her his day became so much brighter. He could spend hours simply playing with and watching his little sister, he assumed this was what Itachi felt about his little brother.

When he thought about his sister's future, he could understand his mother's reluctance at letting him go. He didn't want Masuyo to have to become a ninja at his age. He wanted her to be safe for as long as she could possibly be. She was so beautiful and innocent that he didn't want her exposed to anything bad.

With a sigh Naruto got up and gave his sister a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

* * *

Naruto finally arrived at the front gate with a myriad of thoughts flowing through his mind. He greeted his team but wasn't really paying attention to what was said.

"Naruto! Get your head out of the clouds; you can't let your guard down without knowing anything about the enemy during a mission." The sharp reprimand from his sensei brought Naruto out of his thoughts. He nodded in assent and was mildly embarrassed about his lapse in concentration. "Now come on, let's go."

The team quickly began jumping through the thick canopy of trees in relative silence. All three genin were concentrating on the mission, taking it with the utmost seriouness. Their sensei was observing them with mild amusement; it had been awhile since he had been green.

"I wanted to let you know that when we find them, we will be setting up camp far away. I'll go and personally scout them to assess their strength and should I deem the threat low enough I will authorize fighting the bandits. If not we shall simply go back to Konoha and report their location and estimated strength. Under no circumstances should you attack without my say so, understand?"

All three genin shouted out in affirmation, each secretly hoping they would be given the chance to fight the bandits. They were eager to test their skills in a real battle.

"We are also to knock them out only so that we may capture them. Wanton killing is not the way of Konoha so please restrain from fatal blows. Of course if your only option is to kill, then I will understand, but do your best not to."

Naruto in particular was queasy at the thought of having to kill someone. He knew he'd have to one day, but he certainly didn't want to start now. He was happy that if they even did end up fighting, it was capture only. As they continued on, Naruto began to run through the ways he knew to incapacitate someone without using lethal force.

* * *

Kushina had set her daughter down for a nap and decided to have a quick discussion with her husband to settle her worries. He was currently at home relaxing while a shadow clone took care of the daily minutia of being the hokage.

"I understand the early graduation but why the early mission? They should train first before being sent out." Minato refrained from sighing or rolling his eyes, as he wanted to live to see his children grow up.

"It's just a simple test to see if they have the skills required to operate as a team. It's a much more realistic way of testing them. All they have to do is scout the location of a small bandit group that's been causing trouble not too far away. If their jounin-sensei deems the threat minimal they will carry out destroying the bandits. If not then they will simply report back and I'll send out a team fully capable of finishing the task."

Kushina accepted his explanation but one part didn't quite sit well with her. "Destroying them? I don't think Naruto or the other two are ready to kill anyone yet."

"Of course, I've given capture only orders, once the children are away their sensei will execute the bandits."

"What about telling him Masuyo's secret after he comes back, do you really believe that he's mature enough to accept it? I really don't want to make Naruto afraid or hateful of his sister should we tell him the truth of the Kyuubi."

Kushina was about to continue questioning her husband but a kunoichi burst through the front door into their home putting them on alert before they realized she was an Anbu. "Hokage-sama please forgive the intrusion but this is an urgent report that we have just received from our intelligence division." The kunoichi bowed to Minato while handing him a scroll. Unfurling it the Hokage paled as he read its contents. The scroll fell from Minato's hand as the words sunk in.

"Get a squad of Anbu together and have them sent out now! I want them out of this village five minutes ago! In fact, I'll be leading them!" The kunoichi quickly moved to follow his orders. While that was happening Kushina had moved to read the fallen scroll. A piercing wail was heard by all nearby.

* * *

"Alright, the bandits have been reported to be striking from around this area. We'll cover more ground by splitting up, although I want everyone to be within approximately two hundred feet of those on either side. Be on the lookout for any indications of bandit presence. Move out."

All three genin quickly spread out along with their sensei and began a slow move forwards. Naruto assumed it would be pretty easy to find evidence of any bandit activity as they were usually rather clumsy and inept. Add that to their complete lack of knowledge in the art of stealth any bandit would stick out like a sore thumb to even green shinobi like Naruto and his teammates.

After a few minutes of absolutely nothing, Naruto's thoughts began to wander. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what his parents were so anxious to tell him. As he was pondering what the secret could be, a shadow moved in the peripherals of his vision, but he was too unfocused to detect it. He continued on, doubting that they would ever find these apparent bandits. Within less than a minute a cry of immense pain was heard from his left.

A deep fear took hold of Naruto as he heard that scream. He didn't want to think about what had happened to Hanako to cause it. However, driven by a need to aid his teammate Naruto turned to where he heard Hanako scream.

Rushing over to see what had caused the scream he found Hanako lying dead on the forest floor, a pool of blood rapidly expanding underneath her. Tarō came from the opposite side as Naruto, only to see his dead twin. As Tarō roared in anger, a roar that was quickly cut off, Naruto shut his eyes in an attempt to keep the horrible sights out of his mind. To his dismay he could still smell the blood and hear Tarō's death throes. He couldn't block all those senses at once so he was forced to deal with his mind creating images to accompany what he heard and smelt. Nor did he want to block his ears as he could hear his imminent death.

He could hear a blade coming to end his life before two separate sounds of a blade slicing through flesh was heard. A warm liquid hit his face as the thump of two dead bodies hitting the ground could be heard. His own distraction and inaction had caused the death of his sensei, maybe even the deaths of his teammates.

'Why?' Naruto couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. He was too scared of what he'd find should he open them. This was meant to simply be a low-ranking mission that even academy students yet to graduate could have accomplished. Something like this wasn't supposed to happen.

It was a very new tactic; cause a bit of strife to have a low-level mission assigned then ambush those sent out to deal with it. Each time the major powers would end the wars they fought out in the open, a shadow war would start and be fought to weaken old enemies and potential new ones. Striking at the future of a village by killing their fledgling shinobi before they could grow was one of the best ways to hurt a nation. Naruto's team was just an unfortunate casualty in a war that had, technically, been ongoing since the founding of the villages.

Of course none of that mattered to Naruto; the only thing that mattered was getting away from all of this. He couldn't hide from the reality or horror of the situation though. He opened his eyes, images of a similar scene flashing through his mind. 'Why did it have to turn out like this?' It was the last thought to pass through his mind before he passed out in a battlefield of blood.

* * *

**Wakahisa means 'Forever Young' and Tsuneo means 'Eternal Hero/Man'.**

**Yamada Tarō/Hanako are generic placeholder names, kinda like John and Jane Doe/Smith.**

**Still Friday where I live as I post this. Still, cutting it close.**

**This chapter didn't turn out as large as I hoped as this seemed like a good place to end it instead of continuing. So to make up for it I'm going to have another chapter up on Saturday. This is also to make up for the fact that I'll be gone for over a week with no access to my laptop.**


	6. New Resolution

**New Resolution**

* * *

Minato was rushing through the forest towards where Naruto's team was supposed to be. When he had received that scroll it felt as if his heart had stopped. The Intelligence Division had learnt that an ambush was being set up near Konoha. A high level shinobi from Iwa had been sent in order to create the impression that bandits were attacking a trade route. Once a team was dispatched to deal with it, the Iwa shinobi would ambush and kill them.

There were some rumours of other nations's teams being killed via this method but Minato hadn't put much stock in them without hard evidence. Even then, he never assumed that another nation would be so bold as to attack so close to Konoha. By pure chance it had been his son that was sent to deal with the 'bandits'. Perhaps not pure chance, he had wanted to keep his son safe so he sent him somewhere nearby.

'I won't be able to live with myself if something happens to Naruto. I can't but feel that Kushina-chan was right, I feel as if I should never have sent him out so early.' Minato and his group stopped abruptly at the signal of one the Anbu. This one was an Inuzuka who was currently sniffing the air. He motioned for everyone else to follow him as he shot of towards whatever scent he caught. As he raced after the Inuzuka, Minato couldn't help but feel an impending sense of dread. It was a feeling he couldn't shake and he hoped sincerely that he was wrong.

The first thing that Minato noticed was blood. It seemed as if everything was coated in blood. The second thing he noticed was a small body, covered in the red liquid, his son. It was at that moment that Minato's world seemed to stop. His son, the pride and joy of his life had been brutally taken from this life. He could still remember when Naruto was born, the immense joy that he felt at having a part in bringing something so miraculous into this world.

As he began to go numb with grief, his body moved towards the source of his sorrow. He didn't care for the other bodies that he could see, he didn't care about the possibility of there being a trap. The only thing Minato cared about was reaching his son.

When he finally reached the body he couldn't help but notice that his son's beautiful blond hair was so covered in blood it looked red. 'Oh kami, how am I supposed to explain this to Kushina-chan? How am I supposed to explain that our son was brutally murdered because I pushed for him to climb the ranks to quickly?'

As he hugged his child's body to his chest, Minato felt something he never could have hoped for. He could feel the rhythmic thump of his son's heart. His son was still alive! Minato quickly looked all over his son's body for a wound and when he found none he felt like bursting into tears of happiness. Not only was his son still alive but he was also injury free. He cradled his child even closer as he relished in the relief coursing through his body.

"Hokage-sama, is your son alright?" Minato looked over to the Anbu squad's medic with a smile.

"Yes, he's just fine." Unfortunately Minato had to shift his attention to what had transpired. "Have you been able to figure out what happened here?"

"We have a good idea of what went on. Based on the position of the bodies, Hanako-san was killed first and in a fashion that would be quite painful. Her brother must have been attracted by the noise, whereupon he was quickly killed. Your son also came across the scene but it seems Tsuneo-san took a blow meant from him and killed the assailant. We found no headband or any marks indicating his allegiance."

Minato nodded at the last part, he had expected as much. "Very well, burn Tsuneo-san's body but bring back the unknown shinobi and the two children's corpses. The parents' of those kids deserve our sympathy."

His orders were quickly carried out and Minato was soon rushing back to Konoha, his Anbu squad struggling to keep up.

* * *

Naruto once more woke up to the white ceiling of Konoha's hospital. The circumstances under which he once more found himself here eerily resembled those of the first time. He wasn't has shaken up as the first time but he still couldn't bring himself to dwell on what happened. A hand touched his and he looked up to see his mother staring at him worriedly.

"Naruto-kun you're awake. How are you feeling?" Unbidden images of Hanako lying dead on the ground flooded through his mind and he could hear her brother's dying breaths. Tears began to spill from his eyes before his mother quickly wrapped her arms around him. He cried as he thought about what happened, his mother whispering comforting words in his ear and holding him tight.

After a few minutes he began to finally stop weeping, but he was content to stay in his mother's arms. He knew it wasn't true but he couldn't help feeling that he was safe from any harm.

The noise of the door to the room being opened gained their attention. At the doorway stood Minato, a look of worry on his face quickly being replaced with happiness. The thing that really drew Naruto's attention though was who Minato held in his arms. It was his precious little sister.

"Hey Naruto-kun, glad to see you're up. Thought you could use a visit from Masuyo-chan here." A grin lit up Naruto's face as he disentangled himself from his mother's arms. As Minato drew near Masuyo saw her brother and began reaching towards him.

"Seems as if someone is anxious to see you Naruto-kun." Kushina smiled warmly at the sight of her two children. Minato handed off his daughter to his son, who held her with reverence.

The moment he held his sister within his arms, Naruto began to feel better. It was as if she managed to wash away all the sadness within his heart. The horrific memories were receding, the feelings they brought with them dimming. Things didn't seem so bleak anymore.

"I think everything's going to be just fine."

* * *

Naruto had been allowed to leave the hospital after it was deemed that he was coping quite well. It was much later in the day and he was wandering around the house before bed when he heard the voices of his parents.

"Minato-kun you seem really stressed, do you want to talk about it?"

"It's beginning to weigh down on me. Rumours have been circulating that Orochimaru is gathering his forces, for what reason nobody knows. I wish I could've gotten to his lab sooner and caught the bastard before he ran."

"That wasn't your fault Minato-kun, you got there as soon as you could."

"I know Kushina-chan, but it's not just that. The peace talks with the Uchiha aren't a complete disaster but we are barely making any progress whatsoever. I have to fight tooth and nail just to ensure the continued peace. To top it all off we almost lost our only son!"

"I know, I know. The Uchiha situation is getting better and Naruto-kun is safe in this house with us right now. About Naruto-kun though, do you think we should still tell him about Masuyo-chan?" At this point a sigh escaped Minato.

"No, I don't think now is a good time to tell him that the Kyuubi was sealed inside his sister." Naruto couldn't stop the gasp that escaped his lips at what he heard. The Kyuubi, the thing that almost destroyed his village was sealed inside his sister?

Both Minato and Kushina burst out of the room to find a shocked Naruto. They had feared the worst when they heard a noise from outside the room and unfortunately their fears were realized. Naruto was most certainly not supposed to have overheard them.

"Naruto-kun, did you hear what your father and I were talking about?" Whatever hopes they had of him not hearing were shattered when he nodded. Minato walked forward and kneeled before his son so he could be on eye level with him. Putting his hands on his son's shoulders Minato made sure Naruto was paying full attention before beginning to speak.

"Naruto-kun, I know that what you overheard us talking about might be confusing you, but don't let it. Masuyo-chan is still your precious little sister. She is not the Kyuubi, she merely holds him within her. I need you to understand, they are not one and the same and they are completely separate. Do not hate her for what she holds, it is a great burden that she bears and she'll need you supporting her."

Naruto was silent for a moment has he absorbed everything he was told. Suddenly a fierce glint entered his eye. "I could never hate her! It doesn't matter that the Kyuubi is sealed within her; Masuyo-chan is still herself! I don't care what she holds, she is still my precious little sister and nothing will change that!"

Both of his parents were immensely relived by what he had said. "You're an incredible brother to Masuyo-chan. She's lucky to have someone as loving and caring as you looking out for her." Both Minato and Kushina gave him a hug, incredibly proud that their son was so accepting.

Naruto smiled at both his parents before walking away from them, his mind abuzz.

* * *

Despite what Naruto told his parents, the knowledge that the Kyuubi, the harbinger of destruction, was sealed inside his sister affected him terribly. What kind of world was it that not even the newly born were free from corruption? Why did everything good in his life have to be bathed in hatred? His mind once more filled with the memories of his team's slaughter. He was being tormented by the horrors that he could no longer block out.

Hanako's dead body, Tarō's screams, his sensei's warm blood hitting his face. It didn't stop there though; images of that unknown ninja basically exploding in front of his face began to appear. Soon the images shifted to that of his family, each of them lying in a pool of blood while the Kyuubi continued its destruction. It all eventually led back to his team and the bastard that did it.

The bastard that killed his team was from another village, with orders to kill. Why had they turned what was to be a capture mission into a merciless bloodbath? A burning hate began to form, a hate for the evil bastards who could do such a thing.

'Why can't anything be pure in this disgusting world? What chance for peace is there in this world? So many kill those they don't even know simply because they were ordered to. Itachi was right, keeping the peace Konoha has is the only thing I can do. I have to defend it from all the other villages that would kill innocents, who would ruin our peace. I can do this, I have the Will of Fire within me!'

Out of his great sorrow and trauma Naruto felt as if he had gained something invaluable.

* * *

**I was thinking of ending last chapter with Naruto finding out about the Kyuubi but I decided to end it at what seemed a pretty decent place, though now that I think about it I probably should've left them merged. That's why I was able to write this chapter so quickly; a portion of it was already done. **

**I ended up going to bed before finishing the last paragraph up so I finished it up and uploaded it this morning instead. ****I do hope this chapter is good though, I never get around to proofreading any of my writing.**

**Just to be one hundred percent clear, Naruto doesn't hate or fear his sister. He just hates the situation she's been forced into.**

**Finally****, I do respond to any questions within reviews via pm so if there's anything bugging you feel free to ask. Although I'm going on hiatus starting today so probably the wrong time to mention this.**


	7. Once More

**Once More**

* * *

Minato sat at his desk with his head in his hands. Some days being the hokage was simple not worth the trouble. His son had once again recovered from the trauma of witnessing death and had grown up quite a bit in the past three years. He still hadn't been sent out back in the field but had been training hard and sparring with others around his skill level.

Regarding Naruto that was the good part. The Chunin Exams were going to be held within Konoha this year and Minato was debating whether or not Naruto should be allowed to participate. His lack of field experience was a little worrying. Naruto had gone through many simulations to hone his senses but that's exactly what they were, simulations. They helped, but lacked the true spontaneity that field missions held. He was most certainly one of the best Konoha had to offer, second only to Itachi, if that.

Perhaps that was his answer though. Itachi's team had recently lost a member during a mission and Naruto would be a perfect fit. It would even be the best possible team to send to the Chunin Exams as well, showcasing the best of Konoha's up and coming. This could also help him with his most pressing problem.

The talks with the Uchiha Clan were beginning to stagnate. Perhaps this show of trust could be what was needed to nudge the Uchiha into a more receptive state. This would have to be played carefully though, they could easily see it as an attempt at collaring the future of their clan. He had to make sure they saw it as a symbol of trust rather than distrust.

The lack of progress wasn't the only problem, the Uchiha were a disaster waiting to happen. Every little thing he could do to appease the Uchiha was vital. One wrong move could send the currently volatile clan into action, something Minato could not let happen. If it came down to it, he would have to have to Uchiha Clan exterminated.

Of course this whole debacle wasn't even the Uchiha's fault. The people of Konoha, mostly the civilians, were distrustful of the Uchiha Clan. That bred hatred for them which was only reciprocated. Hopefully, the progeny of both the Uchiha Clan Head and the Hokage fighting together would show people that the Uchiha Clan was trustworthy.

"Cat, please inform the Uchiha Clan Head that I would like to discuss something with him." An Anbu, the elite of the village, with a mask resembling a cat appeared from the shadows.

"Right away Hokage-sama." He probably only had twenty minutes at most, so he quickly began preparing for what he hoped would be a fortuitous meeting.

* * *

A knock at his door broke Minato from his thoughts. It seemed as if the man he was waiting on had arrived. He steeled himself before acknowledging the presence outside his office.

"Come in." The door opened to show a black-haired Uchiha. This man was Uchiha Fugaku, the current clan head. The man quickly crossed the distance to Minato's desk and stared impassively at him.

"This meeting is unexpected Hokage-sama, to what do I owe the honour?" Minato calmly stared back into onyx eyes before gesturing to the seat in front of the desk.

"Please, sit Fugaku-san. I wish to discuss the future of your son's team with you." That certainly got the man's attention. He body gained a rigidity and his eyes a hardness that told any wise enough to notice to speak carefully.

"And what exactly is it that you wish to discuss Hokage-sama?" His voice contained just a hint of venom, but he made it a point to remain polite.

"It's nothing to fear Fugaku-san. In fact I think you might actually be very happy to hear my proposition." That certainly peaked Fugaku's interest. "Now, as you are undoubtedly aware, despite my best efforts a majority of the people of Konoha still distrust your clan. This should do much to correct that fault."

"Forgive my disbelief Hokage-sama, but that seems highly unlikely. Many hold our clan responsible for what happened that night with the Kyuubi. You might have made strides to lessen the now mutual hatred, but there hasn't been any significant progress." Minato nodded in acceptance of what was said. It was true that despite what he had done, there were those who would not let go of their hatred for the Uchiha Clan. Those people only antagonized the Uchiha and gave credence to the words of the radicals within the clan.

"That is most certainly true Fugaku-san. However, I submit to you that the hatred is only a symptom of the greater problem that is mistrust. If we can restore the people's trust, then the hatred will evaporate. Now we come full circle to why I brought you here in the first place, your son's team. I propose that my son, who has been training extensively since his team was killed, replace the lost member on your son's team."

Fugaku was struck silent at that proposal. He took a minute to collect his thoughts before responding. "That certainly shows your trust, but I fail to see exactly how it will help. With all due respect Hokage-sama, it seems, if anything, that you wish to watch keep a watchful eye on my son. He is the best that the Uchiha's next generation has to offer."

"I assure you Fugaku-san that I have thought this out quite thoroughly and deemed it to be an excellent first step towards harmony within this village." Judging by the look he was getting, Minato surmised that Fugaku didn't quite see it his way.

This wasn't going exactly as Minato had planned. He needed to have Fugaku on board with this idea so that during future negotiations the ever present tension would be lessened. Also, he really was certain that this would go a long way in aiding the village's perception of the Uchiha Clan. Luckily he had one final card up his sleeve, something he was sure would get the Uchiha on his side.

"This team will also be our major Chunin Exams team."

Fugaku relaxed a bit as he contemplated this new development. The prospect of having the team be Konoha's major team was appealing. Whereas before he were wary of having Naruto on the same team as Itachi, he now welcomed it. The citizens of Konoha would see this as mutual cooperation and trust during the Chunin Exams. After all, what better symbol of cooperation and trust between the Uchiha Clan and the Hokage than to have both first-born sons be on the same team and thrust into the public eye?

"I can see why you thought this would be such a good idea Hokage-sama. To see our children fighting side by side will prove exactly how much you trust the Uchiha Clan to the civilians, but I fear that the shinobi will not see the same thing. Some will potentially see it has you scrutinizing the Uchiha Clan even more." Still, Fugaku would admit that the act would almost surely win over most of the civilians, which was where the majority of the mistrust existed.

"Ah, yes. That worries me as well. I think I have solution though. The jounin sensei meeting in regards to the Chunin Exams is coming up in two days. You shall be there after I have announced Itachi's team as our main team. Then I shall ask for suggestions as to the third member and you will suggest my son. This way the shinobi of Konoha will believe it to be your idea and see nothing wrong with it and the civilians will see it as a mark of trust."

"That is an excellent idea Hokage-sama. And I thank you, truly; for all that you have done to aid my clan." Minato was glad to see the smile on Fugaku's face. The Uchiha had suffered unfairly long enough and Minato was glad to play a part in rectifying that.

"No thanks are needed Fugaku-san, for I am only doing that which should have been done long ago."

* * *

"This meeting has begun." Any chatter between the shinobi present was quickly quieted at the sound of their leader's voice. "As you all know, we are here to discuss the teams that we will be putting forth for the Chunin Exam. I have already decided on a list of possible teams, but first I feel we should discuss the issue of who our main team will be."

A jounin near the back raised his hand and when he was acknowledged by his leader he spoke. "Hokage-sama, I think I speak for all assembled when I say that Uchiha Itachi's team would be best." Murmurs of assent could be heard throughout the crowd. "He shows enormous talent and potential. His teammate Nakamura Atsushi is also one of the more talented genin of the current batch."

Looking around to see how many agreed, Minato nodded. "Very well, Uchiha Michiko, you are the team's jounin sensei, what say you?" The crowd parted to allow a rather stunning dark-haired Uchiha woman to the front.

"I thank you for the great honour Hokage-sama. The two under my command are more than capable of representing our great village. Of course this is all contingent on finding a fitting third member." With a bow she stepped back.

Minato was barely able to keep the grin of his face. He hadn't even been the one to suggest Itachi's team, now it would look as if he had absolutely no hand in this. Writing something down on a piece of paper, Minato gestured for an Anbu, who, with one glance, took off.

"I have called for Itachi's father to be present. As it is Itachi is the clan heir to one of our most important clans and I feel it necessary to have the Clan Head here."

Not even two minutes had passed before someone knocked at the door and came in. Without sparing anyone a glance Fugaku quickly made his way towards the front of the crowd.

"Hokage-sama, I thank you for allowing me to be here and share my input. Let it be known that I support the decision for my son's team to be our major team within the Chunin Exams."

"Excellent. It is official; the genin team lead by Uchiha Michiko will be our major team. Now, we must discuss the pressing matter of finding and integrating a third member into this team. I will take any reasonable suggestions into account." No one spoke up immediately as everyone scoured their brains to think of someone who matched the criteria.

"Hokage-sama, if I might make a suggestion?" Everyone was rather surprised to realize that it was Fugaku who had spoken up. At Minato's nod Fugaku continued. "If this is truly to be our best team then perhaps your son, Namikaze Naruto, would be our best candidate. Not only was he in Itachi's class, he also ranked on nearly the same level during the academy."

Michiko spoke up in support of her Clan Head. "As the jounin in charge of the team I would like to voice my support. Hokage-sama, your son showed himself to be as capable a ninja as Itachi in the academy. Also, I understand that he has been under heavy training since an incident resulting in the death of his team three years ago. He is more than qualified; the only thing needed would be some team building exercises and perhaps a mission." More and more jounin gave their support of the idea until it seemed that most of the room was in agreement.

"It seems as if a consensus has been reached. However, ultimate power to decide both who is placed upon Michiko's team and the fate of my son belongs to me." Silence permeated the room as everyone waited for the Hokage to cement his seeming disapproval. "That being said, I do believe my son to be the best possible third member for this team; therefore, Namikaze Naruto is officially part of Uchiha Michiko's genin team."

"Thank you for accepting my proposal Hokage-sama. Unfortunately, I must take my leave to attend to my affairs." Fugaku bowed, waiting to be dismissed.

"Do not thank me, I should be thanking you. Were it not for your insight we may not have come to such a conclusion. You truly do this village a great service. Now as much as I'd like to keep you here for your opinions, I do understand that you are busy so you may go." As Fugaku bowed once more and began to leave, Minato addressed everyone else. "Now, onto the other teams participating."

* * *

Sharp blue eyes scanned their surroundings. With only the slight sound of their breathing to be heard and nothing to be seen, a figure dashed from its cover behind a tree. Catching sight of a wire the figure came to a halt behind a bush. Slowly moving to the traps perimeter the figure noticed someone in a tree not too far ahead. Someone to watch the trap and ensure the kill.

The person was far too easy to spot for someone who missed the trap and it made the figure paranoid. The person would be easy to sneak up on and kill, but what if they had backup? The figure knew where their target was and couldn't afford an altercation, time was of the essence.

As the figure began to slowly creep forwards, eyes continuously scanning the surrounding area, a slight bulge in the ground caught their attention. Upon further inspection the figure realized it was another person, the backup. With both targets in clear sight, two kunai were let loose, striking their intended targets with deadly accuracy.

Confirming successful kills, the figure once more burst forth. Hopefully there were no others. Continuing at a quick pace the figure soon came to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was their target, a scroll. Scanning the area around the scroll for traps revealed nothing. However, looking around there were tell-tale signs of someone being around, the lack of all wildlife, even before the figure's arrival, being the main one.

In a small puff of smoke a second figure appeared and, after moving around the clearing, leapt forwards to steal the scroll. A hail of kunai came storming out of one of the trees and impaled the second figure who quickly disappeared in another small puff of smoke. The moment those kunai were thrown, the original figure threw three kunai from where the others had come. These new kunai had a piece of paper, the writing upon which was unintelligible, wrapped around them. Their purpose soon became clear as a spectacular explosion occurred where they had landed.

The moment the explosion went off the figure stole the scroll and promptly disappeared once more into the surrounding forest. After waiting for a minute the figure went back to the clearing to be met by a red-haired woman who seemed rather angry.

"Naruto-kun, this was supposed to be a simulation, why the hell did you throw kunai with explosive tags on them at me!?" Wilting under his mother's glare, Naruto did his best to run damage control and escape punishment.

"But Kaa-san, you threw a bunch of kunai at what you thought was me!" His words seemed to have no effect on Kushina as she continued to glare at him.

"I knew you were too good to be caught by them." Naruto couldn't help but smile.

"And I knew that you were too good to be caught by my explosive tags." Naruto was quite pleased with himself, so he wasn't exactly expecting the ensuing smack to the head from his mother.

"You're incorrigible. I must admit though, it was a really good strategy and would have caught those not use to your movements or as good as me in a deadly explosion. It's seems as if you've succeeded in yet another simulation and well within the time limit. Unless, did you happen to see that doll I set up by the final trap?" Naruto let a self-satisfied smirk cross his face.

"What about his second buddy lying in wait? Did you forget about setting up that doll?"

"Excellent job Naruto-kun, I shouldn't have doubted you'd catch the backup. Let's head back to the house for now though, I'm sure your sister is getting rather bored being all by herself."

Naruto smiled softly as he nodded.

* * *

When they arrived Naruto was rather surprised to see an Anbu wearing a cat mask waiting for them.

"Excuse my intrusion, but Hokage-sama has asked that Naruto-san report to his office as soon as possible." Naruto glanced at his mother before nodding to the Anbu. With that the Anbu grabbed onto his shoulder and in a flurry of leaves, they disappeared.

Once Naruto found himself in front of the doors to his father's office, he couldn't help but be anxious. His father rarely ever called him like this. Knocking on the door he waited until he heard the voice telling him to enter.

As he walked through the doorway towards his father he noticed the serious expression on his face. Immediately realizing this was a meeting between a shinobi and his leader, Naruto snapped to attention and bowed.

"You called for me Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, I have important news for you. I have decided that you are to be put on a team that will participate in this year's Chunin Exam. Uchiha Itachi's team to be specific, under the tutelage of Uchiha Michiko." To say Naruto was shocked would be an understatement. This was a massive responsibility being placed on his shoulders, to be a part of the Chunin Exam. Of course, the specific team was also quite the shock.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." It was all Naruto managed as he was still trying to process the fact that he would be returning to active service. It was a notion that left him feeling rather uneasy. His father must have noticed his discomfort because he spoke next as a father, not a leader.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, this is what you've trained for. You're more than prepared." Naruto managed a weak smile.

"Thanks tou-san. When will I be meeting them?"

"They should be here any minute, I sent for them the moment you arrived." As if on cue someone knocked at the door. "Please come in."

Naruto turned to look at his new team. First came a rather beautiful woman whom he assumed was his Uchiha sensei , mostly due to the fact she wore the standard jonin outfit, although the Uchiha fan was visible on the right shoulder of her shirt. Next was a boy who had to be the other genin member of the team. He wore tan coloured clothes, probably in a futile attempt to be inconspicuous. His wild hair stood out as it was a colour that reminded Naruto of his mother, albeit darker.

Finally, there was Uchiha Itachi, almost exactly as Naruto remembered him. He still wore those black pants and that high collared blue shirt. The only major difference was he now had a short ponytail and small tear-troughs under his eyes.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I would like to introduce you to your new teammate, Namikaze Naruto, my son. Naruto-kun, these are Nakamura Atsushi, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Michiko" As his father pointed to each in turn, Naruto gave a small bow to each.

"You will all be participating in the Chunin Exams that are coming up, so its been decided to send you on an easy enough mission for you all to learn how to work together out in the field." They all were a bit surprised at the rather sudden mission, but obviously their Hokage had thought it through.

"What is the mission Hokage-sama?"

Minato stared at the group in silence, evaluating each of those present. However, his eyes stayed fixed on his son for longer than any other.

"There have been reports of bandits nearby, it's your duty to eliminate them." Naruto's eyes widened. He would never forget what happened to his old team. Noticing the concerned looks he was getting, he tried to compose himself.

"Sounds great, I can't wait to get back out into the field." His father eyed him for a few more seconds before nodding in acceptance.

"You'll start as soon as possible, so be prepared. You never know what might happen." Naruto didn't need to be looking at his father to know who he was speaking to.

* * *

**I'm back from my hiatus with a bigger chapter than normal. **

**I'm starting to put more effort into this story now. It's usually just less than an hour of writing then throwing the chapter up without doing any proofreading and I really feel as if that shows in the quality and length of what I've put up so far. The quality will probably remain the same, as I'm not good at writing, but at the very least the chapters will be longer like this one (double the average length) and even longer still. Hooray!**

**My idea is that most teams are automatically given chunin status and only those that are considered to be able to put on a good show but aren't quite the best are allowed in. However, the best are put up to show the might of a village. After all, if only so few graduated each year in the exam then it would be impossible for all the villages to field any real fighting force that are above genin.**

**The mission and the exam are coming up next and for those of you bemoaning that, I am changing the format of the exam. The test will be different, it won't be collecting scrolls.**


	8. The Tests of Will

**The Tests of Will**

**Beware, mentions of rape.**

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure if he was happy with getting another team anymore. The initial excitement wore off and reality began to set in. Sure, it was an excellent opportunity and his team was an impressive gathering of talent. The thing that bothered him was what his team was going to do. The idea of a mission wasn't what put him off; it was the fact that the mission was basically the same as his only other mission.

As he and his team jumped through the forest towards the bandit camp, Naruto was relieved to notice that they were going in a different direction from where he had gone before. He wasn't quite ready to go back there just yet, if ever.

Normally he'd have tried to talk to his team, but the silence was comforting. That and a lack of distractions allowed him to give his undivided attention to his surroundings. The supposed bandits were reported to be quite far away and rather stupid. That wouldn't cause him to relax though, anything could happen.

"This is going to be your second mission, correct?" Naruto looked over to his side to see that Itachi had moved to join him.

"Yeah, but my first one didn't really end up that great." Itachi stared quietly at Naruto for another few seconds, contemplating how to phrase his next sentence.

"So I heard, you have my sympathy. Unfortunately, this mission will be the first one wherein you will have to kill, will it not?" The thought had crossed his mind before, but hearing Itachi say it out loud made it real. Unwilling to actually say anything out loud, Naruto simply nodded at Itachi who grimaced at the confirmation.

"This mission is going to be hard for you. Taking a person's life is never easy, nor should it be." Both genin feel quiet as Naruto imagined what he would soon have to do.

"I've seen some stuff I already wish I didn't. If I can stomach all that, I should be able to do what I have to." Itachi stared at Naruto with sadness in his eyes. He fully remembered a time when he too thought that seeing death was the same as dealing it. The reality was that nothing could ever prepare you for watching someone's life drain away because of you.

"I despise fighting, but we live in a world that forces us to do just that. Perhaps you would like some advice? No matter how noble you would like to think you are, this world doesn't care. If you are put into a situation where it is kill or be killed, then there is only one option. If you die all of your dreams and ideals die with you. It is a sad truth, but if we are to achieve peace we must be ready to kill. We live in the darkness of this word, to protect those that live in the light."

Naruto stared incredulously at Itachi. He had never expected the silent prodigy to speak so much. Better still, hidden in the words was a level of understanding. Itachi was a kindred spirit, someone who truly understood Naruto.

"It might be a lot to take in, but once you get we get back, I'm sure that you'll be able to accept what I've said." Naruto gave him a slight nod before moving away.

* * *

The brightness of day had given way to the darkness of night by the time they reached their destination. A few fires burned away the shadows of the forest, marking the bandit camp. Figures roamed in between the specks of light, reveling in what seemed to be alcohol. The screams coming from inside a tent were evidence of a far more deplorable indulgence.

Naruto couldn't help but hate every single man in who resided at the camp. These were truly the scum of the earth, proof of the depths to which a human might fall. If there was anyone who might deserve death, Naruto believed that these men represented that idea.

"Naruto-kun, come here." His name being called shook him from his thoughts. Turning towards his sensei Naruto moved close beside her. "From what I've been told, you excel in stealth, doubly so in a forest environment. I want you to sneak over to that tent and save the slave inside. Do so quietly. As you do that, Itachi and Atsushi will take up positions on opposite sides of the camp. Be ready to burst out when you hear the call of an owl. You will be the distraction."

Naruto grimaced at his task but nodded in agreement nonetheless. Moving away from his team Naruto began to feel a bit anxious. This was it, he was actually going to have to kill someone. Turning his attention back to the situation at hand, Naruto could once more here those in the tent. In a sick way he was thankful for the screams for they strengthened his resolve far more than any speech could.

Moving with the stealth gained from hundreds of simulations run by his mother, Naruto swiftly got into position right behind the tent. If the screams getting louder weren't bad enough, Naruto could now hear the other's sounds of enjoyment. Even worse still, the smell permeated the entire area and nearly caused him to gag.

Already Naruto knew that he would never wish something so terrible on anyone else. He wasn't sure if this was something a person could recover from. Perhaps death would be a preferable alternative.

When the screams suddenly stopped, Naruto burst into action. Cutting his way into the tent from the back, Naruto saw the form of a man leaning over a woman on a bed. Both were naked but only the man was still moving.

Naruto closed the distance between the bastard and himself in an instant. Naruto was actually thankful when he felt his kunai slide through the man's throat with little resistance. The horror of what he had done quickly set in as his mind cleared.

Allowing the man to fall to the side, Naruto was treated to a sight far worse. How anyone could ever do something like that was beyond reason. Pulling a blanket over the nude woman, Naruto wasn't sure if he should rejoice or feel sad that there was still a pulse. His eyes lingered on the sights before them until he heard the hoot of an owl.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Naruto made his way to the front of the tent. Noticing a spear laying near the front, he picked it up before bursting out. His roar of anger as he emerged from that sick place caught the attention of every single bandit in the camp. He hated every last one of these creatures who pretended to be human.

Naruto set his sights on one that had been coming towards the tent, most likely for his turn. With that thought sending anger burning through his body, Naruto charge towards the man at speeds no mere bandit could hope to achieve. As the spear shank through the man soft flesh, Naruto couldn't help but feel as if this kill was easier.

Not only had the man been prepared, it was also the manner in which Naruto had killed him. A kunai to was much to close and much to personal. A spear however, afforded him more distance and the entire act wasn't as visceral as a result. Staring at the corpse of his second kill Naruto could already hear that his team was finished with the other bandits.

His watched as his sensei moved towards him, congratulating them on completing the mission. Apparently she had been scouting around and found absolutely no bandits outside of the ones in this camp. Upon reaching him, Michiko put a hand on his shoulder and began to steer him away from the camp.

"I think it would be best if you all went back to our camp. Tonight has been a rather unpleasant experience and I think you could all use some rest." Naruto nodded mutely as he and his fellow genin trudged back to the camp in silence. Sleep sounded like a wonderful respite.

* * *

Naruto had been silent the entire trip back to Konoha. He needed to think and his teammates seemed to respect that. It seemed as if every shinobi had to go through this at some point in their careers. Of course, it could easily be that they too were disturbed; as there was no way that the screams went unheard by any.

Seeing the massive gates of Konoha come into view, Naruto felt relieved. He was back home, a place were no one's screams went unanswered for so long.

Entering into Konoha Naruto was struck by how it hadn't changed. Everyone was going about their daily business as if nothing had happened today, as if people hadn't been killed. People were still going to the various stores and purchasing groceries. Couples still walked hand in hand down the city streets. Little children still played their innocent games. Nothing had changed and the odd thing was, he was alright with that.

He hated death and thus would do whatever he could to ensure that it never touched the lives of this peaceful village. If an evil person tried to destroy the lives of the innocent, Naruto would be able to take on the burden of killing them. Itachi was right, it really was worth it. If the beautiful sight that was before him was what Naruto saw after every mission, then he would continue to protect it. The horrors of the previous night would never be visited upon this peaceful village.

"Thanks Itachi-san, I think I've finally been able to accept your words." Although spoken softly, Itachi had no trouble hearing Naruto's words.

"It is a wondrous sight is it not? I too can't help but feel a measure of peace whenever I come back." Both fell into a companionable silence as they took in the sights. Naruto reveled in the peace and happiness of the village, experiencing it as if it were his own.

They continued to walk in silence until they parted ways. Naruto decided to continue walking aimlessly around the village before heading back to his house.

* * *

"So, do you wish to talk about the mission?" Naruto looked at the concerned faces of his parents before shaking his head.

"No thank you. That mission was terrible but it opened my eyes. I've managed to come to terms with what I've done and what I'll have to do in the future as a shinobi." While his words might offer some comfort, the fact that their son had had to kill someone clearly bothered both the parents. He might have been a shinobi but he was still so young.

"I just wish we lived in a world where I never had a reason to do it again." Naruto walked past both his parents to go out into the compound's training area.

"Minato-kun, why must you push our son so fast?"

"I have to make sure that Itachi gets to the finals so that he might become a chunin. There is already anger at the fact I have yet to promote him, so if for any reason he does not pass this year's exam the Uchiha will be furious. Our son represents the best chance for Itachi's team making it to the final round. Naruto needs this too. It might be sudden but he has been waiting for a while to be back on duty."

"I know, but I can't help remember the last time I was weary of pushing him too fast." Kushina sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. The two parents stood in in silence, watching their son and their daughter.

* * *

"Onii-chan, welcome back!" Naruto smiled brightly as he saw his little sister run up to him for a hug. Catching her in his arms he spun her around once, much to her delight, before putting her back on the ground.

"Hey there imouto-chan, it's so good to see you." His little sister was certainly growing up into a spitting image of his mother. Not only did she inherit her mother's look and hair, she also seemed to have inherited her mother's attitude. Masuyo was an excitable child who could be rather stubborn and difficult at times.

"Come see what I've been doing! Tou-san showed me how to throw a shuriken and I'm practicing right now!" Laughing softly to himself, Naruto allowed his sister to drag him over to some targets that had been set up for practice. If their pristine condition was any indication, his sister wasn't having a very good practice.

"I'm not very good right now, I can't seem to hit the targets. Just watch though, one day I'm going to be as good as you!" Looking at her seriously, Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Of course you will be! And your first step towards that goal should be learning how to throw better. Try to flick your wrist more and follow through with the movement." As he explained to her what she had to do, he threw three shuriken that hit to bullseye on each target. His sister was awed at his display and quickly tried to emulate him.

Watching her now, Naruto fervently hoped that she would never become a kunoichi. She didn't need to experience the darker side of life, but he had no right to stop her from doing what she wanted. As she jumped up in down in triumph over having hit the edge of a target Naruto smiled warmly at her. She certainly would become strong sometime in the future.

* * *

Naruto had met up with his two teammates at one of the training grounds outside of Konoha to do a bit of teamwork training when the topic that was on all their minds was brought up by Atsushi.

"Do either of you know when the first test is? I haven't heard anything about it. I was thinking that if anyone knew, it'd be two important people like you." While he didn't like being thought of being important for his parents, Naruto did see the logic behind his reasoning. That made it all the weirder that he hadn't heard anything from either of his parents. He was surprised when even Itachi shook his head.

"No, my parents haven't said anything, maybe they're waiting for something?"

"It must be soon, for I have seen many foreign shinobi within our walls. Our sensei will doubtlessly inform us before it begins, we must simply be patient."

"I guess you're right Itachi. If you and Naruto don't know when, do you at least have any idea what the first test might be?" Both boys shook their heads in response.

"I did hear my father mentioning to my mother that he has already planned the entire thing out. Aside from that though, I don't really know anything else." Naruto had tried to listen for more information, but his father stopped talking about it shortly after. The secrecy was getting to be a bit annoying. "You know what? I'm going to go find them and ask them. I'll meet you guys here later."

Naruto took off to find his mother. At the moment his father was working and Naruto really didn't want to barge into his father's office just to ask such a question.

Nearing the gates of Konoha, Naruto's trained eyes alerted him to someone hiding. Quickly changing course, Naruto threw a kunai at the person. Stopping on a tree branch he watched the person sloppily dodge, clearly they hadn't expected to be seen.

As he prepared to throw another kunai, the slightest of sounds was all that alerted to a second presence on the branch with him. Feeling a sharp pain in his neck, Naruto fell forwards as darkness took over his sight.

* * *

Naruto awoke and found himself tied to a chair. A beam of light was shining down on him from a single bulb in the ceiling, leaving anything more than five feet away from him enshrouded in darkness. He thought he saw some movement in front of him, but was proven wrong when a voice spoke from behind him.

"Now, Namikaze Naruto, son of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato and Namizke Uzumaki Kushina, do you have any idea why you're here?" After managing to calm himself from being startled by how close the person sounded, Naruto responded.

"You've already answered your own question." He certainly sounded braver than he felt.

"Hmm, perhaps I did. That is not the full reason though. Normally by now you would be in Iwa. However, you are needed for something before you are brought all the way."

'_Iwa? Oh shit, this is really bad. Those bastards must have snuck in along with the other foreign shinobi.'_ Noticing the panic building in Naruto's body, the hidden individual smirked.

Iwa and Konoha had never been on the best of terms. The hatred between their villages was deep, as Konoha had beaten them during the last war. The one thing Iwa hated most about Konoha was their leader who had turned the tide of a pivotal battle all by himself. The fact that Naruto was that leader's son put him square on the chopping block.

"Don't worry, it's your father we wish to kill. You, on the other hand, would certainly make good breeding stock. Speaking of good breeding stock, we wish to talk to you about your teammates. Nakamura Atsushi seems to be powerful, if his team is any indication. Uchiha Itachi is who we are truly interested in though. The Sharingan is a powerful tool for any village."

The figure moved towards Naruto's front. As the man was half hidden by the shadows, Naruto couldn't see his face, but he could certainly see the symbol of Iwa on his hitai-ate.

"It would be prudent if you would divulge where exactly your teammates currently are and will be in the near future. In addition, it would be wonderful if you would tell us all about your village. The consequences for not doing so would be rather unpleasant. In fact, if you aid us you will be allowed to live after your seed has been extracted." Naruto's lip curled in disgust at the thought of being used like that.

"That's such a tempting offer, I don't know how I can refuse. I guess I'll just try my bes!" Whatever Naruto was going to say was lost in a scream as a kunai was shoved into his body.

"I'm sorry; did I forget to mention there would be consequences for not cooperating? I could have sworn I told you. Well, at least you know now." The man took immense amusement in mocking and torturing Naruto. "Don't worry, I'll be right back."

The sound of wheels reached Naruto's ears, as soon a cart with multiple nasty looking objects on it came into view. Naruto wasn't even sure what most of the objects did, although their general purpose was quite clear. The few things Naruto did recognize were enough to terrify him, he didn't even want to imagine what the unknowns did.

The burning pain from the kunai in his body did not assuage his fears. In fact the constant throbbing was making it hard to think. It brought with it one thought that clouded out all the others. That this was just the beginning, a sample of what was to come. That knowledge was absolutely no comfort to him in the slightest.

Naruto went over the problem in his head. These guys were obviously serious, they would torture him until he confessed. If he only provided them with some information they would stop, although his teammates would suffer.

'_Can I sell them out like that? Even worse, I'd be letting them know things about Konoha that they could use to harm innocents. I'm just not sure if I can hold out.'_ Naruto had never actually trained to resist torture from a trained and determined opponent. Looking down at his blood soaked clothes Naruto couldn't help but remember the bodies of the two bandits that he had killed. Their clothing had been soaked in blood just as his was. He had killed them to protect the innocent, yet now he refused to bear physical pain to do the same thing?

'_I have to try and stall for as long as I can, I can't let my teammates be dragged into this. I can't fail my village. Perhaps if __I do hold out long enough, my parents will realize I'm missing and send out people to find me._' Even if it was his screams that filled the room, Naruto would not fail those that needed him.

"So, what's your answer?" As the question was asked, the kunai within Naruto was turned slightly before being ripped out, bringing a fresh wave of pain.

"If you think I'd ever tell you anything you must be living in a fantasy world."

"Is that your final answer?" At Naruto's silent glare the Iwa shinobi continued. "Very well. Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on passing the first test of the Chunin Exams."

* * *

**Sorry for being later then I said, forgot to factor in getting shit-faced. That and the subsequent hangover kept me from posting anything last night or when I woke up, almost missed work. Anyways, hope everyone else had a good Saint Patty's day, I know I did. On a related note, gotta stop putting such specific due dates, cuz I always utterly fail to deliver.**

**Tried to come up with something a little different for the first test, although it's probably not original. ****Btw the kunai was placed in an area devoid of organs that could thus be easily healed. Didn't want to do the same old written test, which would be really weird considering my story isn't yet within canon time. Plus the first test is annoying, almost always devolves into Naruto knowing right away the true nature of it and being a badass when Kabuto shows up.**

**Anyways, second test will also be modified, it'll run a little bit more like a mission simulation than a battle royale. I'm s****tarting to write the next chapter right now so it should be out soon, sometime within the next seven-ten days.**

**hitai-ate is a forehead protector. I prefer the Japanese version as the English one can be confusing seeing as not many people wear it to protect their foreheads. **


	9. The Second Test

**The Second Test**

* * *

Naruto stared incredulously at the man who was, just seconds ago, torturing him. "What the hell do you mean passed!? You're telling me this was a test!?" He wasn't quite sure what he should believe. This could easily be a way to get him to lower his guard and get his hopes up. Crushing a person's hope was an excellent way to mentally torture them.

The man momentarily ignored Naruto in favour of removing the Iwa hitai-ate he wore. After carefully folding it and placing it upon the table he strode into the shadows of the room. "I mean exactly what I said, are you deaf?"

Lights suddenly flickered into existence, bathing the room in light. Naruto closed his eyes, momentarily blinded. When he opened them once more, he could see medic-nins rushing into the room. Struggling to see past them as they began healing his wound, Naruto barely caught sight of a slightly scarred face and the mocking smirk upon it before the man left.

Naruto relaxed back into his chair, feeling rather disconcerted. It was still hard to accept that what he had just gone through was a test. He had been resolved to resist as long as possible and was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that not only was he safe, but that he had passed the first test. He also couldn't believe that that was the first test. Why couldn't it have been some written test where they had to cheat in horribly obvious ways?

"Did I really pass?" Giving his injury one last look, a medic-nin decided to answer his whispered question.

"Yes you did. The whole point of the test was to demonstrate your commitment to your village and your comrades. Still, I think that this was a bit too extreme for genin. Speaking of that, are you ok?" Naurto understood that he wasn't talking about any physical injuries.

"I'm still a little shaken up. I think I'll be fine though, this isn't the worst I've been through." The medic-nin sighed; the kid was too young to be saying something like that. Unfortunately, the kid wasn't even that out of the ordinary. His line of work brought him many sad stories like the one in front of him.

"Alright kid, you're good to go. Here's your stuff. Just be careful out there." As Naruto was released from the chair he nodded his thanks. They had done an excellent job, Naruto couldn't even feel any more pain from his side. He'd have to try and learn some of their techniques in the future. Being able to heal yourself or another was extremely useful.

After retrieving his weapons pouch he walked out of the room into a nondescript corridor. There were two doors on either side of his and two at the each end. Confused, Naruto turned and looked at the medic-nin he had been talking to earlier. Noticing Naruto's hesitance, the medic-nin answered the question that Naruto had been about to ask.

"The door on the far right."

Thanking the man one final time, Naruto set out towards the door. As he reached it, he could hear some commotion on the other side. He was already paranoid thanks to the random kidnapping, so he took out a kunai. As he leaned up against the door he could hear a multitude of voices. It seemed like the meeting place for those who had passed was through the door. Putting his kunai back, still keeping a hand on his pouch just in case, he opened the door.

As the door swung open, Naruto was met with an intimidating sight. The room had a large number of shinobi from various villages who all turned immediately towards him upon his entry. It was a rather disconcerting experience to be scrutinized by so many. Gazing around the room he noticed it seemed to be a waiting area as there were many tables and chairs scattered about.

As he was observing the crowd, the door once more opened to reveal Atsushi.

"Hey Naruto, nice to see you passed. I was hoping that I'd be the first one from our team here but I guess not."

"Don't worry, Naruto wasn't the first either." Both genin turned to see that Itachi had joined them.

"It's great to see you two though. If we're all here then that means we can continue onto the next test." Naruto was about to comment when another door opened. Turning to see who had entered, the entire group of genin became silent as they saw a Konoha jounin.

"The last of the teams has finished their test. All you kids are the ones who passed, so follow me." The genin all began to file out after the jounin, although everyone tended to stay around other teams from their village.

* * *

After a while of walking, they came upon a massive forest. A fence surrounded the forest with gates into the forest at regular intervals. Warning signs were posted all over the fence, promising whoever entered a terrible death. The trees seemed to scrape the sky with their branches and let very little light through. All in all, it painted a rather ominous scene.

"Alright kids, listen up. I'm going to explain the next test. What you see here behind me is the Forest of Death. It has that name for a reason. If you can't figure out that reason, kindly get the fuck out of here. Once I'm finished my explanation you will be going into that forest for the test. You'll be in there for a maximum period of 3 days."

"What the hell is this? First you torture us and now you're throwing us into a place like this?" The question was met with murmured assent from quite a few of the present genin.

Looking over, Naruto was surprised to see it had been a Takigakure shinobi who had spoken up. They had precious few shinobi in the first place, so for a team to be sent to the exams they had to be exceptional. He took special note of the one who seemed to be standing away from her teammates, as if uncomfortable around them. She was about his age and her hair was the oddest colour, green. Her eyes were also peculiar; Naruto had never before seen orange eyes.

Noticing the attention, the girl smiled and waved at Naruto. Uncomfortable with being caught, Naruto acknowledged her greeting with a nod of his head. He didn't like being caught, but it was more than that. Therapy had helped mitigate his more intense feelings, although it couldn't get rid of a deep-seated mistrust of those who weren't from Konoha. In fact, he was rather anxious being surrounded by so many foreigners.

"Quit your whining." At the sound of the proctor's voice, Naruto snapped back to attention. "When you become a chunin and, if you're good enough, a jounin, you will face many situations like this. If you can't deal with them now, then what good are you? We don't normally expect genin to deal with this kind of stuff, but you're here to become chunin, so deal with it." Looking abashed, the Taki shinobi stared at the ground, finding something there infinitely interesting.

"This is going to be a mission simulation; one that I doubt more than five teams will be capable of passing." Most of the teams seemed slightly scared of the test at this point. Not only were they entering a place with death in the name, very few teams were projected to pass.

"Once I tell you, you will go over to those nearby tents and receive a dossier. This will contain the photos of the team that you will be hunting during this exam. Your mission is to capture that team alive and bring them to the tower that stands in the middle of this forest. Of course, at the same time you will also be hunted. The time limit, as I said, is three days, so you will have to move quickly yet cautiously at the same time. This is a simple capture and return mission, once you are likely to do as a chunin" Motioning to the tents, teams began to get called forth to go in.

"This test sounds like it'll be difficult, do either of you have a plan." As Atsushi asked his question, Itachi looked towards their third teammate, causing Atsushi to do the same. Naruto was an expert in this kind of operation as many of the simulations he completed were similar.

"Perhaps we should wait before discussing our tactics." Naruto cast a glance around at the other teams in the area, clearly suspicious. Glancing over at the tents, he caught sight of a Kiri team exiting. They all had deadly looking gauntlets equipped. Just as he was about to turn away, his team was called over.

Going into the tent, they received their information. Looking inside, Naruto noticed that they were assigned the Kiri team that he had just seen exit from another tent. Smiling to himself, Naruto began formulating a plan.

As one of the last teams to enter, the examiner soon called for their attention. "Now that you have been given your targets, each team will be brought to a different gate that they will enter the forest from. Once in there you had better start moving because three days isn't a very long time." As the teams all began to prep themselves for the test, the examiner laughed drawing their attention.

"I just remembered something important. After about one day, jounin teams will be sent in to capture any and all teams they come across. Better capture your target in the first day then. Good luck with that." With one last chuckle at the looks of horror on most of the gathered genin, the examiner disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

This wasn't good. That last bit of information completely destroyed most of the plan that Naruto had been crafting. Being led away by a chunin, Naruto began to rethink his plan.

* * *

Once they reached their gate, Atsushi couldn't hold it in anymore. "Shit, this sucks. How the hell are we supposed to not only track a single team, but also avoid one that's hunting us and later on, teams of jounin!"

"I'm unsure how to best go about this, perhaps Naruto has an idea that can help us." Both genin turned towards Naruto expectantly. Closing his eyes to get his thoughts in order, Naruto began to speak.

"The best place to hide is in plain sight." Naruto opened his eyes, finding teammates stared at him in confusion, silently waiting for him to continue his train of thought. "These pictures of our targets, they were taken today. Not only that, but we saw each other before the test began. So we change how we look, hiding in plain sight."

"How does that help us? We'll still get attacked if we're seen." Naruto frowned, trying to think of how to best explain his idea. Itachi seemed to have already gotten the basic idea, so Naruto turned to address Atsushi.

"Normally you'd be right, but think about how this test works. Any and all fighting would either attract other teams or perhaps scare them off, one of which could be the real target. If more join the battle, you could easily be blindsided and taken out. If teams flee, you lose a good chance at catching your own target. Plus, after the first day there are jonin in the forest. While they aren't tracking to the best of their abilities, finding a fight won't be too hard. All teams have to be careful and either only pick fights they can win near instantaneously or dodge all other teams and attack only their target. So, if we change clothes, those hunting us will be far less likely to find us."

"Wow, that's a pretty good idea. What if the people we're hunting have the same idea though?" Even Itachi was awaiting Naruto's answer at this point. In their team, Naruto was by far the best at both stealth and tracking, making this test ideal for him to showcase his skills.

"The best way to hunt your prey is to know what its habits and prey are. We're going after Kiri shinobi, so it stands to reason that they will predominately use water based attacks. Notice how they all had gauntlets on? So we've got a group of water users who are all close ranged fighters. Not only that, but two of them had connected gauntlets, indicating that they fight as a tag team, while the other is a solo fighter. We now know how they will fight, the only thing we need to know is who they will fight, their prey." Atsushi looked quite impressed, although Itachi seemed slightly exasperated.

"I suppose you already know and are just trying to draw it out." Naruto sighed as he glared at the Uchiha.

"Fine be like that, killjoy. Yes I do know. The Kiri team was slightly less discreet than we were. They all turned at once towards a single group and after that continually glanced over at them. They're actually going after a Konoha team, the one with the sword wielder. The Konoha team is most likely going to be entirely fire-based. That and the swordsman makes them rather easy to find. All we have to do is look for traps that make use of specific things in the environment. Perhaps animals, or some sort of plant. A high concentration of traps like that will indicate shinobi who are highly familiar with the terrain, Konoha shinobi. Also, when we change clothes, we will be changing to look like them. That way our target will also try to hunt us."

"So, now that we have our plan for travelling and tracking within the forest, what are we supposed to do when we meet them?" This wasn't exactly Naruto's area of expertise. He was used to missions where he would either fight one-on-one or could sneak past his enemies.

"I really don't know Atsushi. I might be able to come up with some basic plans, but you and Itachi have far more experience fighting in a group." Atsushi seemed rather happy at the chance to show Naruto that he wasn't the only one who could contribute to the team outside of battle.

"We should do our best to avoid dragging the fight out, for reasons you discussed. The specifics will largely depend on the situation and the surrounding environment, but we can we should still have an idea of what to do. Me and Itachi are used to fighting with each other, so we'll take on the connected ones, while you fight against the loner. Naruto, I know that you pack a lot of explosives and ninja tools, so don't be afraid to use them to distract your own opponent."

"Why do I want to distract my own opponent?" Naruto didn't quite understand what Atsushi wanted. Shouldn't he be trying to defeat his opponent, not distracting him?

Itachi, having been mostly silent until this point, took over the explanation. "A lot of ninja love having one-on-one fights. They begin to forget about everyone else but their opponent. For that reason most wouldn't expect someone to break off from their own fight to attack another person. Distract your opponent and move quickly to hit one of ours. Atsushi and I will be doing the same thing, with brute force and genjutsu respectively. Of course, this is all dependent on them being as powerful as us, if they are weaker, take down your opponent as quickly as possible then switch to helping your teammates."

"Alright, the only thing left is to change our clothes. Let's try to make ourselves look as much as that other Konoha team as possible. I've got a fake sword in my scroll, so I'll pose as the swordsman."

Short missions could often end up being longer than anticipated, so their team had taken to carrying extra clothes in a storage scroll given to them by their sensei. The many seals on the scroll allowed for the storage of everything they would need should a mission time unexpectedly lengthen. Spare clothes were just one of the many things held within.

Naruto quickly dressed into what the other Konoha shinobi had been wearing. A dark blue elbow length shirt with bandage wrapping from his elbow to his hands. He put on a pair of ankle length black pants. To finish it up, he took out a fake sword that he carried in his scroll and a small pair of sunglasses. He also used the cloth of his hitai-ate to cover his hair.

Itachi, much to his dismay, had a bright orange t-shirt on and had wrapped his knuckles in bandages. At the very least he was able to keep his pants, though he wrapped bandages around them from the knee down. He too covered his hair as Naruto had done.

Atsushi had a green flak jacket, similar to the one worn by chunin, with noting underneath it. He too wore long black pants and covered his hair as his teammates had done. Looking at Itachi he couldn't help but smile.

"You know, I rather like this outfit. I might keep it on. You should think about it too Itachi, you look wonderful in orange." Itachi's glare was the final straw as he burst out laughing. Just as Itachi was about to say something, their gate opened.

* * *

The genin shot forward into the forest the moment before it had even finished opening. Naruto, who was at the head of the group, began slowing down. Anxious to continue moving, Atsushi decided to ask him a question.

"Why have we slowed down? We need to get to the middle as soon as possible. Everyone is terrified of the jounin hunters who'll be here soon and so they will begin to congregate around the finishing point. If we don't establish a foothold, we might lose our shot at this."

"Entering a zone with so many traps and groups around us will only make our search harder. We're going to let the majority of the teams move in while we scout their perimeter. We can't afford to commit ourselves to such a deadly area until we know exactly where our targets are." With a nod of understanding from Atsushi, the group fell into silence once more.

The forest was a rather eerie place. A heavy silence permeated the environment, punctuated by the thick canopy of leaves that prevented light from entering. Every sound seemed unnaturally amplified and it put everyone on edge. After continuing on in a tense silence, Naruto spoke once more.

"When we get close enough, we'll rest up for a bit. Everyone will be too wary at the beginning to do anything serious. However, as the day comes closer to ending, everyone will be a lot more panicked, allowing us to search for our target a lot easier."

Continuing onward, Naruto made sure to scan every bit of forest they passed. He was rather confident that after doing so many simulations in a forest setting that he'd be able to spot anybody and any traps they had set up. As it was, they encountered no one for a long time. A few howls from the animal population broke the silence every now and again, but no sounds of fighting reached their ears.

Naruto decided that they had traveled far enough into the forest at this point so he motioned for his team to stop. "At the pace we've been going at, we should be quite close to the tower at this point, so let's rest up here." Creating two kage bunshin to help him, Naruto began to set up traps around the perimeter of the clearing they decided to camp in.

Once finished with the traps, Naruto returned to his two teammates. "I'm going to send my two kage bunshin out to scout for us while rest. Hopefully they can find some indication of one of the teams we're looking for." As they settled down to relax the two clones began scouting the surrounding area.

"How's that going to help? If they get dispelled than they won't be able to report what they've seen."

"Don't worry Atsushi, kage bunshin actually transfer all knowledge they've gained to me once they disperse. They should disperse in about half an hour and if they find anything of promise we'll set out earlier than intended. Until then just rest and relax."

The half hour soon passed and when the clones dispersed Naruto winced at the influx of information. Realizing that one of his clones had actually come across a recent battlefield, he got up.

"Come on, my clones found something. A part of the forest has a bunch of marks from a recent fight so let's get over there and begin our search." The team quickly followed Naruto as he ran towards where his clones memories were leading him. Hopefully they'd be able to find something that could lead them to their target, after all, everyone else in the area of the battle would have come to search the area.

Catching sight of something, Naruto signaled to his teammates to stop and join him. Once they were beside him he pointed towards a patch of ground not too far away from the tree where they currently resided.

"You guys see that?" Naruto spoke softly so that no one eavesdropping would hear. "A small cloud of dust, kicked up from the ground. Someone was here and ran just as we arrived." Looking towards a tree near the cloud of dust, Naruto smirked. "See that tree there? It's got a branch that has five gouges in it, all of them side by side. There's a good chance that we've gotten lucky and stumbled upon our targets."

As he continued alone, Naruto couldn't help but notice a puddle on the forest floor. It was such an odd place for one, in fact it probably was impossible for it to have formed naturally, considering the lack of rain and the nearby vegetation. On closer inspection, it was possible to see patches of nearby grass were bent, indicating someone had been standing there recently.

Sending a shadow clone to collect his teammates, Naruto waited, observing the puddle. When his team arrived, he pointed to the puddle. "Let's get a closer look; I don't see any other traps."

As the team cautiously approached the puddle, two figures burst up from it and attacked. Atsushi and Itachi easily blocked the strikes while Naruto went in to disable them. Had it not been for his excellent situational awareness, Naruto would have been skewered by twin gauntlets. Quickly backing off, Naruto's attacker followed.

Getting a good look at him Naruto realized he was the loner of the team. The guy had what seemed like a rain coat on, just like his teammates. His over had a hood which obscured most of his face, although his rebreather was visible. The things that really drew Naruto's attention however, was the twin deadly gauntlets that he wore.

"Those two idiots are Meizu and Gōzu, brothers. I'm Roba, the leader. It's rather lucky that we were able to run into you guys. We weren't sure who our fake battlefield would attract, but it worked out perfectly." With his monologue complete, he shot forwards, intent on ending Naruto's life.

Managing to dodge one strike and redirect the other, Naruto landed a palm strike straight into his opponent's chest, knocking him backwards. Seeing his opponent was actually skilled, Roba began to analyze his opponent. Closing the distance between them once more, Roba began a fast flurry of strikes that Naruto had trouble dodging.

Realizing he couldn't keep it up forever, Naruto formed some handseals. A sudden gust of wind knocked back Roba, giving Naruto the chance to go on the offensive. Moving in with greater speed than Roba, Naruto quickly came within striking range and unleashed a series of of jabs, winding Roba, before jumping up and kicking off his face, knocking Roba to the ground.

"Shit, what the hell was that technique?" Naruto almost laughed, as if he was going to explain the great breakthrough technique and waste his offensive chance. Throwing some shuriken to keep his opponent off balance, Naruto rushed towards Roba once more. Just as Roba was about to stab him, Naruto created a clone to take the blow while he used it to catapult over his opponent. Landing behind him, Naruto wasted no time sending two devastating blows to his opponent's kidneys before kicking him away. Creating another clone to distract him, Naruto moved to help his teammates.

Watching as the two brother moved with their gauntlets high in the air, Naruto took his chance and fired off a kunai. His aim was true and it caught their chain, trapping it against a tree. Turning back to his own fight, Naruto frowned as his clone was defeated. This guy was extremely deadly at close range. If only Naruto had a weapon that granted him greater range.

Once again put on the defensive, Naruto couldn't help but notice that although Roba was a primarily melee focused ninja, he had almost no technique. His swings were wild and unrefined. A lot of them left him over extended and vulnerable. It was only Naruto's inferior reach that prevented him from taking advantage of the opening. It seemed he wouldn't be able to win like this.

While Naruto was analyzing his opponents fighting style, Roba was doing the same. The brat that he was fighting was certainly talented; in fact he might have already lost to the brat if he had a longer reach or a weapon. "Wait a minute, why the hell haven't you been using your sword!?"

Naruto smiled at his opponent. "You fell for our trap. We aren't the team your hunting, we're the team that's hunting you!"

Barely hearing the rustle of leaves that indicated something was heading towards him, Roba just managed to dodge the thrown kunai. His lapse in concentration cost him heavily as a kunai was stabbed into each of his legs. Lashing out as he fell, his gauntlet made contact, digging deep into Naruto, who exploded in white smoke.

Unable to see and move properly, he stood no chance of blocking the heavy hit to his head that knocked him out. "Kage bunshin, it's a pretty useful technique. Idiot didn't even realize he was fighting one the whole time."

Standing over his defeated opponent, Naruto turned to see how his team was faring. The attack on the chain had forced the two brothers to abandon it and they had been quickly separated.

Itachi had his opponent trapped in a genjutsu, one that the poor guy was unlikely to get out of any time soon. Atsushi was physically overpowering his opponent, whose gauntlet arm was hanging uselessly by his side. As Naruto went to take care of the brother in the genjutsu, Atsushi landed a devastating roundhouse on his opponent, sending him flying into a tree. As he finished tying up both his opponent and Itachi's, Atsushi came over carrying a beaten lump of flesh.

"Wow, you really knocked him around didn't you?" Naruto's question was met with laughter.

"Sometimes being sneaky just isn't an option and you have to rely on pure fighting skill." It was Naruto's turn to chuckle at the obvious bragging.

"We can joke later you two, for now we have to get moving before someone comes to investigate." Quickly sobering up, the other two ninja followed Itachi's lead and began to move once more towards the tower.

"This is the most dangerous part. If we get seen by any other team, we'll be attacked. They won't want us passing so we have to hurry." Starting a mad dash towards the tower, Naruto looked back and was terrified by what he saw. Catching up was a group of Konoha jounin.

"That son of a bitch, he lied about when the jounin were entering the forest! Atsushi catch!." Throwing his captive to his teammate, Naruto slowed down a bit to protect his team's back.

Creating three clones, he sent them out to distract the jounin. As the front most jounin met the first clone, he got ready to kill it. To his surprise it began to expand. If it wasn't for his quick reflexes, the exploding clone would've nearly killed him. As it was he was still going to be unable to continue chasing Naruto's team.

Seeing the hesitation of the other two jounin, Naruto turned to catch back up with his team, although not before creating another two clones to cover their flank. Those two clone quickly began to set explosive seals, which they then detonated to collapse a couple of trees towards the group of jounin. Seeing their friend's life in danger, the other two rescued him. They were soon attacked by four clones who were soon destroyed.

"Shit, those kids got us good. Didn't expect one of them to have such high level techniques. We're going to have to get you medical treatment instead of following them."

Breaking into the clearing around the tower, the three genin didn't stop running until they had reached the entrance to the tower. Trying desperately to catch their breath, they waited until the door opened.

* * *

Arriving inside the tower, the exhausted genin were met with a chunin. After confirming the their and their targets' identities they were given a room to rest in.

"Finally, we get a break." Although he was the only one to vocalize his relief, Atsushi's feelings were mirrored by his teammates. Their day in the forest had been tiring. They were lucky to have found the Kiri team as quickly as they had. Spending another day or two in that forest would have resulted in almost certain failure. It wouldn't be too surprising if their team was one of the only ones to pass this test.

"Now that it's over, I'm curious to see what our next test will be." After the last two tests, Naruto was wary of what could be coming up next. These tests were trying and the next one would most likely be worse.

"In the first test our fortitude and loyalty was tested. In this one our ability to track, sneak, survive, and complete a mission on time were tested, among others. The only thing really left to test is our fighting ability. Most likely the next test will be combat and it will probably be the final test, considering how few teams will pass." What Itachi said made sense.

"Well, if our next test is going to be combat, then we had better rest up." Biding the other two a good night, Naruto went to his bed and got ready for sleep. The constant use of his clones had started to tire him. He'd have to work on expanding his chakra reserves even more.

Soon he would show everyone his talent. His promotion to chunin was assured.

* * *

**Late as always. As a consolation, it's by far the biggest one yet. ****Bit of bad news, got a new job so I'm gonna have less time to write. I'll try to continue posting at a regular pace of between 1-2 weeks but we'll see.**

**In regards to my quip about the canon first test, didn't anyone notice that most of the main characters info gathering was horrendously obvious, an exception being Dosu? About that moral at the end, the one about sticking through and being courageous or whatever the hell it was, it was terribly done. The mission is to become chunin and failing that tenth question would prevent them from ever doing so, failing the mission. There were too many unknowns; therefore, those who quit retreated from a situation that would most likely end in the mission's failure, so they could regroup and wait until a better opportunity presented itself. You know, something you'd hope the shinobi of your village would do instead of foolishly continuing onward, dying, and failing the mission.**

**Anyways, tried something different for this test again, though it's probably been done before. The only reason it's still in the Forest of Death is basically home advantage. It would be safe to assume that Konoha shinobi are the most acclimated to traveling/fighting in a forest. Every village would do its best to aid their own shinobi. Plus, there's some familiar faces in this exam.**

**Finally, has my writing been getting any better? I know that I'm writing longer chapters, but has the quality improved at all?**

**Btw, have a happy Easter and for those who don't celebrate it, have a wonderful weekend.**


	10. Finals

** The Finals**

* * *

Naruto and his team had been waiting within the tower for the test to end. The initial excitement at having passed quickly wore off to be replaced by boredom. They had been allowed to search around quite a few rooms and had even been given a training room to pass the time. However, there were areas within the tower that they had been forbidden from entering; leaving them to wonder what, or who, was being hidden.

It was due to these restrictions that they didn't even know who else had passed. It might have been that no one passed, or that many teams had passed. Both options were possible and with absolutely no contact with the outside world, they had no idea what was happening

Atsushi had been restless, constantly moving around or training within the provided room. He seemed utterly incapable of staying still and relaxing. Itachi was the exact opposite, keeping rather calm, occupying himself with meditation and reading whatever books were available.

Naruto was staying a little bit away from his teammates, preferring the company of his thoughts. There wasn't much to do within the portion of the tower they had access to, so he filled his spare time with planning. If they were truly to fight for the final part of the exam, then he would have to plan his training when he got out. He'd love to train within the tower, but he didn't have access to the things he really needed to make it worthwhile.

In the end, it was a relief for everyone when they received a visitor. The time limit was finally reached and whoever had made it into the tower with them were going to be their next challenge. A jounin had been sent to deliver a message pertaining to the next test.

"Congratulations to you all on being the first to pass the test, you do our village proud."

"First? So other teams did manage to pass. Can you tell us how many?" Naruto was sorely disappointed when the jounin shook his head.

"I cannot reveal how many have passed; you are to be kept in the dark about your future opponents as much as possible. What I can tell you is that you will be fighting, although any specifics on that are also secret."

"What's with all these secrets? It's getting annoying, what with us being kept in the dark about every test."

"We want to test your combat adaptability, how easily you can adjust to unknown enemy combatants. It's not actually an enforceable rule, the other teams might be cheating, but Hokage-sama wishes that those of Konoha showcase both their strength and ingenuity." Naruto couldn't help think that that sounded exactly like his father. Of course, it was also his father's honour that helped make the decision.

"The final test will begin in half a month giving you precious little time to prepare. On that day the test will begin at 0800 hours so I suggest you arrive early; show up late and you will be disqualified. That's all the basic information that you really need to know about this test, so you can leave. Just be warned that an Anbu squad will be following you as you exit, to ensure that you don't look or wait for any other teams. Doing so will result in an ass-kicking that will put you in the hospital for the fifteen days."

Mildly annoyed by the threat, which prevented them from doing what they had secretly been planning, the three genin began to leave the tower. As they walked through the exit, they noticed that there were in fact a couple of Anbu standing around. Walking past the silent guardians, the three genin continued out, intending on leaving the forest and beginning their training as soon as possible.

"So guys, how do you think we should train? We're obviously gonna have to focus on just one or two things since we don't have that much time to do anything that serious." Naruto was about to respond to Atsushi's question before he realized something rather important. The jounin had never said they wouldn't be fighting each other.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. You guys do realize that he didn't say anything about fighting each other. In fact the test will most likely be a tournament style battle system, where we keep fighting against until an ultimate victor is crowned." The statement brought all three genin to a halt as they stared at each other rather intently. Before another word could be spoken between the trio, they each burst off into a separate direction, intent on secluding themselves from the other two.

* * *

"Good news Fugaku-san, our sons have made it to the final test."

"Ha, there was never any doubt Hokage-sama. I expect that our sons shall meet each other in the finals." His statement was met with a grin. It was most likely true, Naruto and Itachi were easily the strongest from Konoha and Minato doubted that any village had genin at their level.

"Yes, I believe they will. When that occurs an opportunity to aid our cause shall present itself. Of course, if this doesn't work some of our work will be undone, so we must be successful." To say that Fugaku was interested would be an understatement. Already the voices of dissent within the Uchiha clan were fading. In addition, the villagers seemed much more accepting of his clan. If the Hokage had another plan then it would be foolish to not implement it.

"You've piqued my interest Hokage-sama. Please don't leave me in the dark."

"It may not be the greatest, but every little bit helps. Not only will it reinforce the teammate image, it will also, in and of itself, be another step towards our mutual goal. All I need is for you to talk to your son. This partnership was built to improve the way the village looks upon the Uchiha and this could be an unfortunate step backwards." Fugaku didn't like the implications of that statement. Things were looking a lot better than they had in decades and it would be unwise to allow anything to hurt that progress.

"We have to convince our son's that, in the very likely scenario that they end up in the final fight against each other, to end the match in a draw between each other." Fugaku frowned at that, his son wouldn't like that idea at all. In fact, he himself wasn't that comfortable with the idea, wanting his son to show off his full capabilities. Noticing this, Minato hurriedly continued.

"I know that you don't like this, but it's vital. Both of our children have to be convinced to do this. Think about what would happen if one triumphed over the other. If my son won, the Uchiha might feel inferior and villagers would see them as such. It might not be that bad, but it would still harm relations, something we don't need. If your son won, those who are ignorant would be angry at my son's loss to an Uchiha. Through a tie however, neither group comes out as angry, if at all, and our sons are seen as equals, further cementing the idea of camaraderie." After the brief explanation, Fugaku felt much better about the plan, although he was still of the opinion that his son wouldn't be as excepting of the idea. In fact, Naruto probably wouldn't like the idea very much either, making it difficult to actually implement the plan.

"I can see your point, but do you really think that either of our sons will agree to this idea. I know I speak for my own in saying that he will not like the idea of fighting to tie. He would see it as not only constrictive, but as a great dishonour to his opponent." Minato realized that what Fugaku said was true. His son would also feel the same way as Itachi.

"I know, my son has the same inclinations as yours. I also doubt that my son will want to agree with this plan and quite frankly we shouldn't force them. If word ever got out that we tried to rig the finals in any way, the other villages would be outraged. It's best if we simply ask our sons and not push the issue beyond that. If they end up not accepting, it isn't that great a loss to our cause. We will certainly be able to work around it, it would just be convenient for us should they accept."

"Very well, I shall talk to my son. However, I will not put much faith in him actually going through with plan." Getting up from his seat, Fugaku bowed to Minato and left the office.

* * *

Reaching his home, Naruto began to look around for any of his family. Finding nobody around, he was slightly disappointed that he wasn't able to share his success right away. Nevertheless, he had to begin training or creating new strategies. If his teammates actually ended up as his opponents, then he would need every advantage possible.

New jutsu could help out against Atsushi as he was more a melee fighter. However, they'd be pretty useless against Itachi, who could simply copy the technique and use it for himself. Training his body harder would certainly help against Itachi, if he couldn't keep up or match his strength then the advantage would be Naruto's. Again though, his other teammate would most likely still trounce him, he was a lot stronger and a superior taijutsu user. The only thing that would give him an advantage over both his teammates would be new tactics, surprising them both and giving him the advantage. He'd have to make them unorthodox or too fast to counter to beat Itachi's Sharingan though.

There had to be something that neither had any experience in that would give him a substantial edge in his planning. If they weren't familiar with whatever he used, they would be less likely to predict anything he tried. Deciding to head outside to the training grounds, he ended up running into his sister and mother, who had apparently been shopping. The moment his sister's eyes landed on him, she lit up and ran over to him, holding something.

"Tou-san told us that you passed the test; you're so awesome oni-chan! Me and Kaa-san went shopping to get you something Here you go oni-chan, I got you a sword because it's cool. Kaa-san helped me buy it for you! You'll be so awesome swinging it around and shouting 'hyaaaa'!" Naruto was amused at his sister's actions. She was always a loud and exuberant; it seemed as if she never ran out of energy.

Naruto took a look at what his sister had given him. He wasn't really knowledgeable in swords, but it seemed to be of pretty good quality. Doubtlessly his mother had paid for it, but it was a sweet gift nonetheless. While he didn't think he'd be running around playing samurai, he did see an advantage it would give him. He wouldn't actually have the time to really train in using any form of weaponry, but that didn't stop him from using them in a limited manner.

Taking his silence as unhappiness, Masuyo tried to explain herself. "Umm, I know it's not a really nice sword, but I thought you could practice with it." His sister seemed really disheartened. His opinion meant the world to her and she never wanted to disappoint him. Catching on to this, Naruto made sure to reassure her.

"Thanks a lot imouto-chan, it's a wonderful gift. You've given me a great idea for the test that'll help out a lot. Besides, you should know that any gift I get from you is a great one!" Overjoyed at his words, Masuyo flung herself at her brother, embracing him. Returning the hug, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at her exuberance. She was certainly a lot more excitable then he had ever been as a child.

After finally disengaging himself from his sister, he turned to greet his mother.

"Congratulations Naruto-kun, I knew you could do it." His mother gave him a smile and hugged him as well although she didn't seem as interested in breaking his back as his sister had. As he hugged his mother back, he couldn't help but be inspired. Both her and Naruto's father were really good at something that most shinobi barely had rudimentary knowledge in. It seemed that both his sister and mother had just aided him quite heavily.

* * *

Naruto had spent his fifteen days doing what he felt represented the best possible chance for him to win against every opponent he might have. He had changed his clothes, not so much for a fashion statement, but to aid him in hiding his abilities. He now wore a mesh shirt underneath a red haori that purposefully hid his arms. He wore black plants that had been tapped down under the knee and had put on black finger-less gloves.

He couldn't hide his excitement, walking towards the arena full of energy. He could hear the roar of the crowd and could only imagine what it would be like in the arena itself. Fighting in such an atmosphere would be intense.

With that thought, some of Naruto's excitement wore off. His father had come to him while he had been training and asked something of him. His father wanted him to fight for a tie should he ever come up against Itachi. Apparently his father thought it would help the Uchiha clan, but Naruto was of the opinion that his father was over-thinking things.

He had already decided what he was going to do though; he was going to give it his all. It would feel far to wrong to purposefully cheat to gain a certain result, which was something he doubted other villages would appreciate. Besides, he respected Itachi too much to not fight with the intent to win.

As he entered into the area where the genin were meant to wait, he and Itachi shared a look. It seemed as if Itachi had been asked the same thing Naruto himself had and had chosen the same. A nod was exchanged between the two but nothing more. The team was staying away from each other a bit, still worried about giving away something to one another.

A jounin soon appeared in the small room the three genin were in.

"You guys are up first. It's going to be a team battle and there are three other teams who passed. Once your battle is done, the next two teams will fight. After that the six remaining fighters will be pitted in a one-on-one fight. Finally a battle royale between the three winner will commence to decide the winner of the entire tournament. Now hurry up and get the hell out there and don't embarrass our village!"

* * *

When they reached the battleground, they found themselves pitted against some Kiri shinobi. As the proctor for the test began a speech, the three genin decided it was okay to talk to each other about this match.

"Alright, we're going to have to work to end this quickly. Don't wanna be tired for when we end up fighting each other. You two should focus on one person; I'll create a few clones to distract the other two. Once you've easily overpowered your target, move in and take on another single fighter. Then we'll focus all of our efforts against the last one." The other two nodded, excepting Naruto's plan.

As the match began, Naruto quickly got an explosive kunai ready and launched it at his opponents. As they split up to avoid the blast, Naruto created three clones and attacked the two who had grouped together. Itachi and Atsushi quickly went after the loner, intent on decimating him quickly and aiding Naruto.

Facing his opponent, while the clones distracted the other one, Naruto smirked. "This is going to be fun." Charging forwards, he began to trade blows with his opponent, being sure to take a hit every now and again. Taking out a kunai, he began to slash at his opponent, forcing him to jump back. The moment he did so, one of Naruto's clone dispelled itself and Naruto turned to throw the kunai without even looking. His weapon cut through the smoke a a pained cry could be heard. Feeling good, he turned his attention back to his opponent.

Itachi and Atsushi were dominating their opponent. The poor genin couldn't keep up with either one alone; never mind that both were attacking simultaneously. Itachi was taking his attention, while Atsushi would land devestating blows that would sometimes break bones. The poor guy was soon left on the ground, moaning in pain, incapable or moving with all the broken bones.

As Naruto was engaged with his opponent, his two teammates arrived to help. Against the three of them, their opponent barely lasted a third of the time his teammate did. He simply hadn't been ready for the massive rush that the other team had performed, none of his teammates were. They had expected a slower paced one-on-one style battle and had been blindsided by this lighting fast attack.

The three genin turned to see their last opponent facing off against a single clone. The kunai that Naruto had thrown was still lodged in his body and he could barely keep fighting with the injuries he had gained. Noticing his creator's victory, the clone pointed behind his opponent and dispelled.

Turning to look at the battlefield, the Kiri shinobi paled. His entire team had been taken out while he was being kicked around by some clones. Looking at the three shinobi arrayed against him, the he raised his hand above his head. "I give up."

With the crowd roaring and the adrenaline still pumping through their veins, the victorious team basked in their win. Returning to their room felt a bit anti-climactic but they welcomed the chance to rest and get back to 100%.

* * *

Returning to the room they had previously been in, they turned to watch the other match. It actually had the Taki team that Naruto had noticed earlier against a Suna team. It was a rather boring fight, as it was clear that the green haired girl was the only one who was good on her team. She must have carried them through the second test.

It wasn't long before her two teammates were taken down, leaving her to fight against three opponents. She put up an excellent fight, she seemed to have a lot of stamina, but it was ultimately useless. She simply wasn't at the level required to defeat three rather strong Suna shinobi. Still, her battle proved to be rather useful for Naruto.

The first Suna shinobi was a sword user, far more talented than Naruto. She'd be a dangerous opponent, although he doubted she'd actually have a chance to beat him. The next wielded Fūton jutsu at a level Naruto was slightly jealous of, although the Suna shinobi had the help of a fan. The last one was a melee fighter, similar to Atsushi, but far more arrogant. He would be the easiest of the three to beat.

Atsushi was next to go up. He was pit against the swordswoman. The battle started out rather predictably, with Atsushi running to close the distance right away. His usual strategy of physically overpowering his opponent was thwarted. That sword made it dangerous for him to attack and he wasn't really used to fighting someone who wielded it.

He did manage to adapt to it though, learning to lead his opponent into overextending certain strikes to give him the time to land a hit. This went on for a while until Atsushi went to finish the fight with an super powered kick. He might have landed the strike, but his opponent landed two debilitating strikes of her own, rendering him incapable of fighting any longer. Of course, she wasn't even conscious anymore so the match ended in a tie.

Itachi went out to face his opponent, the fan wielding shinobi. It was an incredibly one-sided match, as Itachi was able to easily counter every single jutsu his opponent tried. Being an Uchiha and having a Fūton using teammate gave him a massive advantage. That and the fact that Itachi was far superior in every other regard made the match rather quick.

Finally, it was time for Naruto's fight. It was good luck that he had gotten who he did as an opponent. He was incredibly excited about the inevitable fight that would occur between him and Itachi. He just hoped his father wouldn't be too disappointed when he won.

* * *

"You're a Namikaze huh? My name's Moloch and it'll be a pleasure to kick your ass!" Staring at his opponent amused, Naruto decided to stay quiet. It wasn't long before the fight started.

The two fighters stood still, scrutinizing their opponent and waiting for the other to make the first. As the standoff began to drag on, Naruto, in a fit of impatience, went on the offensive. He quickly reached his opponent and let loose a series of punches, all of which were blocked. Catching on to a pattern, Moloch struck during an opening, launching Naruto backwards.

Pressing his advantage, he quickly put Naruto on the defensive. It seemed as if Moloch was too fast, strong, and skilled for Naruto to mount an effective counter attack. Desperate to separate himself from his opponent, Naruto grabbed a kunai from his pouch to throw. His lapse in concentration cost him however as his face was treated to a palm strike.

Falling backwards, Naruto threw the kunai to force his opponent to dodge. With the momentary reprieve, Naruto planted his other hand on the ground and flipped back onto his feet. Knowing that his opponent would be closing in already, he grabbed some shuriken and sent them towards Moloch the instant he could properly aim them. They were easily dodged, though they forced Moloch back.

With some distance finally established between the two fighters, Naruto took the chance to catch his breath. Noticing his opponent's winded state, Moloch began to laugh.

"This is the son of the great Yondaime Hokage? I expected you to actually be strong, but instead it's like I'm fighting an academy student. Perhaps the reputation you father holds is misplaced, or perhaps you are simply a failure." It took a some effort to not rise to the bait, as Naruto was pissed off. Nevertheless, Naruto knew that rushing in blindly was simply a waste. Perhaps a distraction was in order.

Forming several clones, Naruto joined them in a head on attack. Although they had the superiority in numbers, Moloch easily wove through them, casually destroying them until he reached the real Naruto. Knocking Naruto across the arena with a powerful punch, he decided to do a bit more posturing instead of actually continuing to push Naruto.

"Seriously, if this is the best that Konoha has to offer than I pity your pathetic village. I'm not even sure if I can continue this match. I've never felt good about hurting a civilian and that feels like what I'm fighting against right now." Getting up, Naruto smirked. His opponent was such an arrogant fool, it was going to be so much more rewarding when he beat him.

* * *

Fighter's box

"What the hell is Naruto doing? I don't know how strong he is after the month of training, but I know for sure that he was much better than this guy before he even joined our team." Atsushi couldn't believe his eyes; Naruto was getting pounded into the ground. The same Naruto who had just waltzed onto their team, already as good as Itachi. He'd never admit it, but he was jealous of Naruto and his talent. Atsushi never missed a chance to boast his skills, being on the team that he was on he felt overshadowed.

"I'm not sure what exactly he's going to do, although it's clear that he's hiding his strength. He wants to remain a mystery as it gives him a massive advantage over the other fighters who've been showing off each fight." Atsushi ignored Itachi's rather pointed stare. "He needs to be careful though, his tactics are costing him more chakra than what he needs to end this match. His reserves are finite and the overuse of kage bunshin will begin to catch up with him if he doesn't end this fight soon."

Atsushi took another look down at the fight and realized that what Itachi had said was true. He had fought alongside Naruto long enough to know his movements were quicker and more precise than what was on display. Now that his eyes had been opened, he could easily tell that Naruto was trying to lead his opponent into a trap, although Atsushi was as much in the dark as Itachi on what it could be.

* * *

The Fight

"Kage bunshin no jutsu." Out of the smoke appeared four Narutos, all looking ready to fight. This was going to be his final attack, his opponent was far too confident in his abilities at this point to evade the trap Naruto had set. If only the arrogant fool could see past the front that Naruto was putting up.

"You're becoming repetitive and boring. Is this all you can do?" Seemingly falling for the taunts, the Narutos all charged at once. "So many openings, I don't even have to try!"

The first Naruto threw a punch that was dodged and earned a kunai to the stomach for his trouble, dispelling the now revealed clone. Throwing the kunai in his hand, Moloch hit another Naruto dead in the forehead, creating another puff of smoke. "Two down, three to go." The three remaining Narutos decided to hang back, wary of their opponent.

Unfortunately for them, he wasn't willing to give them a chance to plan. Speeding towards the three Narutos, he threw a hard punch that caught the rightmost one of guard, sending the clone sprawling. Using the momentum from his punch, he delivered a roundhouse to the Naruto who had been in the middle. As the clone went up in smoke Moloch smirked. What he couldn't have known was that the fight's outcome had already been decided.

"Looks like I found the real you. So, what are you going to do? Hide behind another group of weaklings?" With a laugh he shot forwards and slammed his fist into Naruto, sending him flying. To Moloch's surprise, when Naruto landed he went up in a cloud of smoke.

"Tch, must've used the smoke to hide himself in the trees, coward." Turning towards the trees, he was about to call Naruto out when he felt multiple slices along his legs. Before he could even react, Naruto had spun around to his front and jammed a kunai into each of his arms. He legs began to shake, before he fell to the ground, unable to support his own weight.

"I guess you were too stupid to confirm your kill. Worked out perfectly for me though. I've cut major tendons in your legs, and your arms are now useless. You won't even be able to get up, let alone fight." Seeing the confused yet hateful look, Naruto chuckled. He patted his chest where his shirt was now missing a button. "Henge, sometimes the basics are deadly."

The crowd was absolutely stunned by the unexpected victory. Slowly, people began to clap until the entire stadium was filled with the cheers of the audience. Medic-nins quickly rushed onto the battlefield to tend to the wounds Naruto had inflicted upon his opponent.

* * *

Hokage's Box

Watching his son fight brought up mixed feelings within Minato. He was most definitely proud of his son. Naruto had been watching his opponents earlier fight and planned accordingly to play against their strengths. He played a weak fighter who depended on kage bunshin to fight and struck the final blow only after lulling his opponent into a false sense of security. Very few could boast to having such prowess on the battlefield at such a young age.

Yet therein lay his discomfort. His son had grown up far too fast, he hadn't enjoyed his childhood as much as he should have. Sure, the things his son had experienced were rather par for the course when it came to being a shinobi, but he need not have experienced them so early on. Perhaps the system needed to be changed; those so young should stay within the academy until the reached the graduation age. Too many deaths and scarred children resulted from early graduation.

It almost felt like favoritism, but he wouldn't allow Masuyo to go through the same things. Mistakes helped improve things, but this was a mistake that Minato wished he never had to make in the first place. He'd have to think of some way to keep Naruto closer to the village, prevent him from having to face too many difficult situations.

Perhaps his daughter was the answer. The two siblings were obviously very close so having them help each other out would be an excellent solution to both the problems. It probably wouldn't even take that much effort to get his son to agree with his plan. His daughter needed someone who could properly teach her and protect her; his son needed to be kept away from so many dangerous missions. He'd just have to ensure that his son didn't become an Anbu.

Such thoughts were for best saved for later though, as now that Naruto's fight was over, the final fight was set to begin. The fight was important, as it would have an effect on the Uchiha-Konoha situation. Not just that, it was the fight between the greatest genin that had been seen in Konoha for a long time; it was a great way to show off their village's power.

* * *

Arena Floor

"The final fighters have been decided. As one of the previous matches ended in a draw, there will only be two fighters. The match to determine the strongest genin will be between Uchiha Itachi and Namikaze Naruto!" Thunderous applause rang throughout the entire arena. This was a fight that everyone had hoped to see; the Uchiha prodigy versus the Hokage's son. Both had shown themselves to be great shinobi and a contest between the two could only be amazing.

Itachi quickly made his way down, Naruto having remained there since the conclusion of his last fight. Both the genin were anxious to test their skills against such a formidable opponent. They each were ready to disregard their fathers' wishes, holding to much respect for their opponent to simply end the match without doing their best to win.

Their focus on each other was so intense, that they barely heard the signal to begin the fight. Itachi instantly activated his Sharingan, ready to place his opponent in an illusion. Naruto had anticipated this and kept his gaze away from Itachi's eyes. Both of them were fairly well acclimated to each other's fighting habits, so it would boil down to who messed up first or had gained the most unanticipated skill.

For his part, Naruto ripped his sleeves off, revealing the mass of seals running along each arm. It was a nod to his Uzumaki heritage and deadly useful in battle. It showed when he ran his left hand across his other arm, unsealing two kunai with explosive tags already on them. No way would it actually hit an on-guard Sharingan user, but it was a great way to start off a match. The resulting explosion was quite spectacular.

Naruto wasted no time in reaching the still recovering Itachi. He went for a chakra enhanced kick, hoping Itachi was still distracted enough to land it, but was disappointed. Itachi smoothly dodged the kick and struck back, his punch hitting Naruto in the kidney. Coughing some blood, Naruto jumped back and unsealed another explosive kunai to distract Itachi so he could recover.

He had to test the Itachi, see what had changed. Creating three clones, he sent out two of them to engage Itachi in taijutsu. Watching Itachi deal with both clones, he could tell that Itachi hadn't really improved in either strength or speed. That meant he most likely devoted his time to learning jutsu or creating new attacks, life Naruto himself had.

Quickly forming handseals, '_Fūton: Daitoppa', _a great gust of wind was sent at Itachi. Immediately after his jutsu was completed, the clone beside him throwing a couple of shuriken after it. The jutsu blindsided Itachi and the clones, blowing them away and dispelling the clones. As Itachi hit the arena wall, the shuriken came flying towards him. They hit their mark, but a puff of smoke revealed that they had only hit a log; Itachi managing a last second substitution.

Naruto surveyed the small forested area, trying to find Itachi. Catching sight of him and his clone hiding, he and his own clone began to move forward. A hail of kunai erupted from the tree line, forcing Naruto to dive out of the way, his clone not quick enough to escape. As Naruto landed, Itachi had finished his preparations and a shout of "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu" could be heard, along with a volley of fireballs that flew out from the trees. The clone then used its own Fūton: Daitoppa, greatly increasing the size and speed of the fireballs.

Naruto had been ready for the original attack, so the combination surprised him. Creating a clone, he had it use another Fūton: Daitoppa, but on him. The gale threw him backwards, far out of the range of Itachi's combination technique. Just as he was blown away, the combination technique slammed into his clone and the spot he used to be in, creating a massive explosion of fire. Shit, it looked like Itachi had decided to train in jutsu.

Both Itachi and his clone jumped out of the trees and onto the arena floor. He allowed his clone to attack Naruto, deciding that it was his turn to gauge the differences in his opponents strength. He noticed the same things Naruto had and worried what might his teammate might have learned. His clone was soon destroyed, giving him another perspective on the fight and confirming his analysis.

Running his right hand along a seal on his left arm, Naruto unsealed a short length of chain that had a weight on either end. Spinning the chain, he threw it towards Itachi, hoping that he would dodge the attempt at snaring his legs. The moment Itachi's feet left the ground, Naruto unsealed two kunai, one regular, the other explosive. Throwing the regular one at Itachi to distract him, Naruto threw the explosive one towards where Itachi would land.

Catching onto Naruto's ploy with his Sharigan, Itachi knocked created a clone that would take the hit from the regular kunai and push him away from the explosion in mid-air. The concussive force of the explosion still hit him, as he was almost on top of it when he performed his escape, knocking him away and forcing him to hit the ground hard. He was pretty sure that he had a broken rib from that. There was no time to worry about that however, as Naruto had jumped above him and had a massive hammer in his hands. Barely rolling out of the way in time, his eyes widened at the small crater that formed from the impact. Getting to his feet, he quickly fired off another cluster of fireballs, hoping to take away Naruto's momentum. He succeeded when Naruto retreated and resealed his hammer.

Staring at his opponent, Naruto decided it was time to take the initiative and end the battle however he could. Obviously holding any strength or tricks back was going to end in disaster. Putting his hands behind his back, Naruto removed his gloves and charged forwards, bringing his right hand out from behind his back to strike Itachi.

Itachi found it odd that Naruto was going for a head-on attack again, until his superior eye sight caught the seal on his hand. In a puff of smoke, Naruto had a katana in his hand. Had it not been for the Sharingan and his extraordinary reflexes Itachi would have received a massive and debilitating cut. As it was, he still felt the sting of the blade cutting his flesh, but it was shallow, presented little risk, and didn't hinder him.

"Had I been anyone else, this fight and my life would have just been ended. However, these eyes render your surprise strikes useless."

Naruto couldn't help but appreciate the truth of that statement as Itachi countered every single one of Naruto's slashes. Granted, Naruto wasn't really that great with a sword, but his speed helped him out immensely. Unfortunately his agility meant little against the predictive abilities of the Sharingan. Dismissing the katana, Naruto thought about his next move before smirking.

Speeding towards Itachi, Naruto unsealed a sheathed sword from his left hand. Holding onto it with one hand while the other prepared to it to be drawn, he closed the distance between them nearly instantly. Itachi noticed this and brought out a kunai for another inevitable clash of steel. As Naruto let loose a lighting fast slash from drawing his sword, Itachi easily moved backwards, his prediction abilities aiding him greatly. Unfortunately, what they couldn't have predicted was the powder that accompanied Naruto's slash. It flew into Itachi's eyes, blinding him. Naruto must have had it hidden in the sheath so that it would fly out whenever he performed a quick draw slash.

With Itachi no longer able to see, Naruto quickly pressed his advantage in the form of his katana through Itachi's stomach. What he didn't expect was for Itachi to be retaliate by lodging the kunai into the shoulder of Naruto's sword arm. As Naruto roared in pain, Itachi went through some handseals and breathed out a large ball of flame. Jumping out of the way, Naruto's left leg and arm were caught in the flames, severely burning them.

The two combatants were both injured and barely able to continue standing, let alone fighting. Itachi couldn't see and was bleeding quite heavily from his stomach wound, while Naruto's arms were useless and he couldn't stand up properly. The fight had also left them exhausted and their chakra reserves almost empty. Seeing as neither could even enter a fighting stance, the proctor stepped up.

"Both shinobi are unable to continue and in need of immediate medical attention, I declare this match to be a draw!" The statement was met with mixed reactions. Those who had placed bets were almost universally angry at their loss, the few having bet on a draw ecstatic at their win. The rest of the crowd was on their feet, cheering for the two genin. It had been a fight on a level far beyond what any normal genin could ever aspire to achieve.

"Great job Itachi, it was an honour fighting against you." Naruto smiled at Itachi, though the blinded genin couldn't see it.

"Likewise. You are a skilled fighter and I was lucky to score a draw." A identical smile formed on Itachi's face.

The show of camaraderie brought out another massive cheer from the crowd. They shouted praises of both the Namikaze and the Uchiha. To the crowd, it was easy to see that these two shinobi were great friends who respected each other.

Waiting for the crowd's adulation to cease, Minato inwardly cheered. This was exactly what he and Fugaku had wanted and asked of their sons. A tie between the two so neither would be seen as superior. It wouldn't do for the Uchiha clan to feel inferior or to have stupid villagers angry at the loss of his son. He had been worried that neither child was actually going to allow for a tie, but it seemed they were evenly matched. Naruto had more versatility in his attacks, whereas Itachi had the Sharingan.

Once the noise had begun to die off, Minato stood up and walked to the edge of his booth. His movements caught the attention of most in the arena who instantly fell silent, those who hadn't immediately noticed him soon did.

"These two genin deserve to be applauded. They made it through two tests that hundreds of others were incapable of passing. They proved their loyalty to their village and its people. Then they demonstrated their ability to complete a mission fraught with danger Finally, here before our very eyes, they have proven that they hold not only the strength but the intelligence of those far older. While there will be deliberation for the others, I can, at the very least, present to you two new chunins!"

* * *

**Fūton: Daitoppa = Great Breakthrough**

**Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu = Phoenix Sage Fire Technique**

**I was apprehensive about following the canon for the format of this test, but truthfully it is the best way to demonstrate the strength of the chunin hopefuls to a large crowd. I did mix it up a little bit though, I thought showing off the team dynamics where they could properly be observed was a good idea.**

**In regards to the actual fights, I was aiming for a more tactics based battle. Due to the way Naruto was trained, he is far more comfortable trapping his opponents. So when he fights he does his best to avoid actually being a part of a fist or jutsu fight, unless it falls into his plan. I should thank Wacko12 who asked me about weapons, which quickly gave me multiple ideas of things for Naruto to use to gain the upperhand.**

**Considering I'm thanking people, I'd also like to thank everyone who has favourited/followed this story. This especially extends to those who have reviewed my story, all of whom have taken time out of their day to let me know their thoughts. The support from all of you is very much appreciated.**

**I feel I'm really getting into the grove of writing, so along with this chapter comes the release of my second story, 'The Twins', which you should totally go read. It's been bugging me and I couldn't leave it so I've started writing, but this story is going to remain my main focus.**


	11. For the Village

**For the Village**

* * *

A year had passed since Naruto had become a chunin and he was enjoying his new position immensely. He was given many solo missions, something he enjoyed quite a bit. The solitude could be quite nice after being in the village for too long. He also got a mission or two with his old team, all of them now being genin. Best of all, he had yet to kill anyone on any of his missions. It was a little odd but he chalked it up to good luck.

He was on his way to report another successfully completed mission. Opening the door to his father's office Naruto greeted his parent before reporting his success. His dad didn't seem at all surprised that Naruto had returned earlier than expected, it was something rather common. Naruto felt that the level of missions he had available to him simply weren't challenging enough.

"Naruto-kun, could you stay for a minute? I have something I wish to discuss with you." This was odd, usually his father waited until they were both at home to discuss anything with him. Unless he was already being sent out on another mission, Naruto had no idea what his father might want to talk about.

"Have you considered what you're going to do in regards to your career?" Naruto was surprised by the question. His father had dropped hints about it every now and again, but he was never so direct.

"No, I haven't really thought ahead yet. At the moment I'm simply content with where I'm at." It was true, he hadn't thought of what his next step was.

"Well you need to decide soon. You do realize that your little sister has begun her training in the academy. You keep taking your time and soon she'll be a jounin-sensei and you'll still be a chunin." They both laughed a bit at that. "Seriously though, you have the skills to either join the Anbu, like Itachi has, or be promoted to jounin."

"You're right; I just don't feel the need to continue climbing my way up the ladder at this point. I get plenty of time to spend with my family and train at my current level. If I was promoted I'd be away a lot more."

"That's not true. If you became a jounin you could specifically become a jounin-sensei. That way you would still be able to do those things and be promoted at the same time." Naruto saw the logic in that. A jounin-sensei wasn't usually that far from the village as they were meant to train the newly minted genin. He'd have to admit, it was a pretty tantalizing prospect.

"I'll have to think about it tou-san. Is there anything else you wished to talk to me about?"

"No, you may go." Minato couldn't help but smile. It seemed as though his son liked the idea of becoming a jounin-sensei. He couldn't help but feel optimistic about the future.

* * *

A month later and Minato was no longer feeling optimistic. In fact, his current situation was sucking any positive feelings right out of him.

"This is an outrage!" Normally Minato would have severely reprimanded anyone who dared speak to him like that in his office, but considering the circumstances he didn't think it would be wise. Contrary to all the other meetings Minato had had with Fugaku, this meeting was rife with discontent.

"I agree completely Fugaku-san, but you must remain calm. Now is not the time to blind ourselves with anger." Fugaku visibly calmed down at this, remembering exactly who he had been talking to.

"Forgive me, but this is extremely stressful. My clan is livid and I share their sentiments." Minato frowned, this was going terribly. Everything that they had been doing to improve relations between the Uchiha clan and the village could be undone by this.

"Do not worry, I too am outraged. This is an ugly situation and I would like you to know that I had nothing to do with it." It was something that Minato felt he couldn't stress enough. He truly had no idea that this was going to happen and he desperately hoped that no Uchiha believed that he was actually the one who had commanded the deed.

"I know that you would never do something like this, it might just destroy any hope for peace we have. That's exactly the problem we face though, the Uchiha clan demands blood and I do too. We will see justice for the crime that has been committed against us. I beg you, do not deny us this!" His plea was one of desperation. If he was denied, he wouldn't be able to hold back the tide of vengeance that would sweep forth. His clan would have their revenge and were willing to go against the wishes of the Hokage to achieve it.

"You wish to avenge your fallen clan member? Do not worry; I have no intention of denying you justice. However, you must realize that this is a complicated situation, something that will take time to plan." The tightening of Fugaku's body easily showed his discontent for what Minato had said.

"How is it complicated? Danzo has killed one of our clan members in a disgusting attempt to steal his eyes. He deserves death for what he has done to Shisui." Fugaku's anger blinded him to the potential dangers. Had he been of sound mind he would understand exactly why Minato didn't simply have the man killed for his treasonous actions. It was up to Minato to help him see what was in front of his face.

"Don't be so rash! Danzo knows that he has failed and that we are closing in on him. He has hidden himself in his base, readying for our retaliation. The problem is, Danzo has been secretly recruiting orphans and training them into his own personal Anbu operatives. He calls this group ROOT. We cannot simply barge in without proper preparation." Fugaku had never heard of this ROOT organization, but they certainly seemed to present a legitimate threat if they were real.

"If that's true than we will need your approval for an invasion of his base! We will not remain idle while that madman is still alive. The Uchiha clan will crush him and his pathetic group." It seemed as though bloodshed on a massive scale was unavoidable. Of course, Minato couldn't simply allow the Uchiha to fight alone, he had to give them his support.

"Do not think that you will be alone in this fight Fugaku-san. The Uchiha clan has the support of Konoha in this issue." Minato knew that he'd have to offer more than just simple support. This was a major breach of trust between him and the clan and he had to rectify it.

"Thank you very much for your support Hokage-sama." Minato knew exactly what he was going to have to do. The Uchiha clan was likely to be very angry at everyone in general, so he'd have to make a personal appearance to help calm the situation. Of course, that might not even be enough so he'd have to show them that he was truly committed to aiding them.

"Don't think that that is the extent of my support Fugaku-san. While my shinobi will be aiding you, I will be personally lending my support. I will take to the battlefield and personally lead the attack to destroy this traitor. As a personal show of support, my son will also be taking part in this raid." Fugaku was stunned by the show of support. He had expected to gain some shinobi to aid him, but Minato himself? Not only that, but Minato had promised that his son would help. It was clear that the Hokage was in full support of the Uchiha in this situation.

"Words cannot convey my gratitude Hokage-sama."

"Don't worry, it's the least I can do." Barely a year had passed since he decided to better protect his children and already he was throwing one into the fire once again. Naruto had been given simple missions, nothing that would require deaths and was oblivious to the fact that it was purposeful. Now he would be joining an incredible dangerous mission. Perhaps it was naive on Minato's part to think that he could prevent his son from dealing with any more death.

* * *

Naruto had just returned from another mission and the first person he met when he reached his house was his sister.

"Oni-chan!" As always, Naruto was treated to a flying tackle disguised as hug. Gently putting his sister down, he ruffled her hair and gave her a bright smile.

"It's great to see you imouto-chan, what've you been up to?" His sister beamed at him before grabbing a leaf from the ground. She put it on her forehead and when she removed her hand, the leaf fell, much to her disappointment.

"No, I was hoping I would get it this time! How am I supposed to graduate if I can't even do this?" Naruto knew exactly why she was unable to perform the simple chakra control technique. She simply had a massive reserve from the Kyuubi. That was exactly why she was being told to practice, if she didn't start early her control would only get worse. If he had to hazard a guess, he'd say her reserves were almost the same as his when he had been in the chunin exams.

"Why are you talking about graduating already imouto-chan? You know that you can stay there for a full six years." He hoped that she would stay in the academy for six years. At least that way she wouldn't be doing any dangerous missions.

"I'm going to graduate super quick so I can join you on missions! Me and you will go around beating up all sorts of bad guys." Naruto smiled at her exclamation. On the inside though, he was worried. His sister had shown to be a rather promising kunoichi and she would likely be graduating from the academy rather early.

"Yeah I can't wait... it'll be great." Masuyo didn't notice her brother's hesitance and promptly tackled him in another hug. She looked up to her brother and was excited at the prospect of going on missions together. He was always gone from the village now and she missed him when he left. If she passed she'd be able to go on missions with him and she wouldn't be so lonely.

"Naruto, I need to talk to you alone." Turning around, Naruto caught sight of his father beckoning him to join him. Turning towards his sister, Naruto gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry imouto-chan, but tou-san is calling me."

* * *

"What's so important that we're being so secretive tou-san?" It was rather unusual for his father to talk business when they were at home. Any and all missions Naruto received were through the official channels or in his father's office.

"Naruto, there is a mission of great importance that I'm going to need you to participate in." The seriousness of his father's voice gained Naruto's undivided attention.

"What do you mean participate? Am I going on a joint mission?" Naruto hadn't been on a team mission in a while and he wouldn't mind the change in pace.

"Yes, you will be a part of a 'team'. Earlier today one of our shinobi turned traitor. He killed an Uchiha and tried to steal his eyes before he was confronted and forced to flee. This crime is extremely serious as it could have dire consequences for our village. The Uchiha are ready to wage civil war if need be to get revenge." Naruto was shocked. This was an extremely serious situation. The last time something like this had happened there was a massive fight that affected even some civilians.

"The problem is, this man has access to a small army of shinobi. He abducted them as children and brainwashed them into following him. So, I am gathering as many powerful shinobi as I can to take on this army while I personally deal with the traitor. That's where you come in. Not only are you powerful, but you are my son. The Uchiha clan will see this as a great offer of camaraderie from us." Naruto had become aware of his father's efforts to patch up the relationship between the Uchiha and the village. This situation could very well undo all those efforts, so if Naruto could help his father in this he would.

"Don't worry tou-san, I'm honoured to be a part of this mission." Minato gave his son a sad smile. He was proud that his son was willing to serve the village like this, but he wished that it wasn't needed.

* * *

Naruto stood alongside many others, all waiting for the command of their leader. There were many jounin and Anbu, but a large portion of the fighting force consisted of Uchihas. Looking around, Naruto recognized a few of those present. Itachi stood not too far away among his clan members, looking as serious as always. He also noticed that his old academy sensei was standing beside his jounin sensei. Apparently they had decided that every single member capable of fighting was to join the battle.

Among the Anbu was a silver haired man, easily recognizable as Hatake Kakashi. Naruto had met the man in passing a few times, but the older shinobi was constantly on missions and almost never within the village for more than a single day.

Turning to look at his father, Naruto couldn't help but be awed. It was no longer his father, or even the kind but firm Hokage. Here was the man who had fearlessly faced down impossible odds and came out as the clear victor. His mere presence could clear a battlefield faster than jutsu could ever hope to aspire too.

"Within these tunnels lies our objective. The traitor Danzo has attacked and killed a member of the Uchiha clan, a member of our village, in an attempt to steal their eyes. This is unforgivable Shimura Danzo will lie dead by the end of this night. He knows this and has hidden himself behind an army of brainwashed shinobi. Under this madman's rule, this army present a very real and very dangerous threat to our village. It is our duty to rid the village of this threat and it's master. Let us fulfill our duty." With his piece said, Minato walked through the entrance.

The entire attack force began to swiftly follow him, all the Hyuugas out front using their eyes to search for any traps or enemies. Everyone was tense, the silence and relative darkness putting them all on edge. The fact that they hadn't met anyone yet merely added to their paranoia. Naruto kept vigilant, but mostly watched the Hyuuga, because if anyone was going to see something, it'd be them.

It wasn't too long before one of them signaled that he had visual confirmation of their enemy. Using a series of hand signals, he communicated that they were simply waiting within a rather large chamber. Danzo wasn't among those who waited; it seemed as if he was hiding like a coward. No matter, he would be flushed out rather quickly after his minions were destroyed.

"Attack!" At Minato's shouted command, all the shinobi began to surge forth into the room. Those with an earth affinity went first, using their jutsus to protect everyone from being pushed back into the tunnel and getting bottle-necked. As the group pushed deeper in, Naruto and others with a wind affinity began to send sweeping winds, knocking their opponents back. With the opposing force in disarray, the loyal Konoha shinobi moved into close quarters combat. As the two sides clashed, Minato continued on, easily taking care of anyone who tried to stop him.

Naruto found himself facing off against a kenjutsu user, so he quickly unsealed a katana from his right hand. Meeting his opponents blade, Naruto couldn't help but notice a lack of strength behind his opponents sword. Pushing back hard, Naruto moved in and took advantage of his opponent being knocked off balance. Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't bring himself to completely extend his slash, so it wasn't fatal.

Noticing his opponent's hesitation, the ROOT member went on the offensive. His slashes were wild and fast, uncaring of his own safety. He knew that he was outclassed but his opponent clearly had a problem with finishing the fight. If he wasn't going to die, than he might as well fight as if he were invincible; hopefully it would overwhelm his opponent.

'_This is for the village. If we don't succeed here than this could spill out into the village and become a full-fledged civil war._' Naruto continued to dodge the attacks from his opponent and ignore the openings the man had. '_If killing can ever be right than it's to protect this village and the peace for which we stand_.' Sidestepping an attack, Naruto's assailant was left over extended. '_For the village!_' The sound of a blade sliding through flesh was barely heard over the din of the surrounding fights.

Watching the life drain from the eyes of his opponent, Naruto couldn't help but feel disgusted. He had taken another person's life. '_For the village!_' Repeating it continuously, it became a mantra. Slowly it helped him overcome what he had just done. Although what he had done was terrible, it was necessary and just. He had protected his village. With a renewed determination, Naruto jumped back into combat.

Finding an opponent cutting down one of Naruto's allies, Naruto quickly moved to engage. This opponent was obviously more skilled than the previous one, his attacks were far faster. He was also a much better kenjutsu user than Naruto was. However, Naruto held the advantage in speed, something that he made good use of. Moving into his opponents guard, Naruto landed a palm strike before quickly jumping away. Throwing a kunai to maintain the distance, Naruto closed his eyes as the explosive tag he had placed on his opponent exploded.

He might be trying to overcome his distaste for killing, but he wasn't ready to see something like that. Even now he still felt horrible for what he had done, especially how he had done it. Unfortunately there was no time to dwell on it as there were still enemies to fight.

Engaging with a third one, Naruto quickly readied his weapon. His opponent was a longer range fighter and Naruto wished to test himself. Trying to close the distance, Naruto had to jump back as spears of earth tried to kill him. Frowning, he threw a few kunai only to have them stopped by an earth barrier. As his opponent broke the line of sight, Naruto charged forwards, creating a clone to help.

When the earth wall fell, Naruto was already almost upon his opponent. Noticing his predicament, the ROOT member once again called forth spears of earth. Using his clone as a spring board, Naruto easily jumped of the attack and landed within striking range of his opponent. Moving in to engage, Naruto found out that his opponent wasn't really used to fighting close quarters. Naruto's flurry of strikes quickly overwhelmed his opponent and a clean stab through the heart ended the battle.

Hearing cries of victory, Naruto turned from his latest opponent to see his father standing triumphant. He had been successful in hunting down and exterminating Danzo. If the death of their leader affected them, the ROOT shinobi didn't show it. They continued on fighting, something that was utterly futile. With the Yellow Flash back on the battlefield, the fighting was soon ended.

Uncomfortably numb, Naruto took stock of the battle. Looking at all the death and destruction around him, Naruto knew that he couldn't let his sister be forced into situations like this until she was much older. She was nearing the age that he had first seen death and he would make sure that she passed that age without being scarred. Thinking back to when he and his father discussed possible promotions, Naruto decided that he would become a jounin. Then when his sister graduated he'd become her sensei and be in the perfect position to protect her from the world.

* * *

**Sorry about being a day late, I had left a bit of writing and the proof-reading for Sunday. Unfortunately I ran into a problem with my house that had to be fixed immediately and it took a lot of my time to fix it. That's what happens when you procrastinate; something comes up and then you're sitting there looking like an idiot. So if you're on FF reading crappy stories like mine instead of doing what you have to do, shut off the computer and get going!**

**I'm not sure if anyone feels as if I've been neglecting this fic, but just in case, know that I intend to give each fic equal attention. The only reason my other story is being updated faster is that I wished to give readers a bit more. That and The Twins' chapters are shorter at the moment. Btw, I've reached 10k views in a month, not a lot I know, but to someone like me it's pretty cool.**

**Finally, I will now post replies to anon reviews on my profile. This way I can still give you the reply you deserve while not publishing a chapter with half the content being replies. Just please give me about a day to respond.**


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